The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has today held interest rates at 0.1%.

The Bank of England base rate has been held at 0.1% since 19 March 2020.

The Bank of England said that the outlook for the UK economy remains “unusually uncertain” despite the rapid rollout of the vaccination programme across the UK.

However, the Bank said there was reason to be optimistic, with the drop in economic growth being less sharp than originally expected in January.

There was speculation at the start of the latest lockdown in England that the Bank could turn to negative interest rates due to the economy weakening in the UK.

A negative rate could spur spending and investment by charging depositors for keeping their money in the bank.