BoE holds fire ahead of new guidance

The Bank of England kept its monetary policy unchanged on Thursday as it worked on a new plan to steer interest rate expectations after its previous one was overtaken by Britain’s strong economic recovery. The BoE left its bank rate at 0.5 per cent, where it has stood since the depths of the financial crisis in early 2009. Britain’s economy last year staged a surprise turnaround and markets are pricing in at least some chance of a rate hike late this year.