Bounty

The Bank of England maintained its emergency support for the economy today by keeping interest rates at 0.5% for the 18th month in a row.

Policymakers also continued with the Bank's £200 billion quantitative easing (QE) programme amid uncertainty over the path of the UK's recovery.

While the UK economy rose by a far better-than-expected 1.2% in the second quarter, recent data has pointed to sharply slower growth since then.

Fears that UK exporters will struggle to fill the gap left by weaker Government and consumer spending were highlighted earlier in the day when figures showed a record deficit in the trade of goods during July.

Recent surveys from the manufacturing and services sectors have also suggested the rally may be fading as firms begin to see much slower demand.

This week's demise of social housing giant Connaught - the first high-profile casualty of the austerity drive - added to fears over the impact on the recovery.

The Bank's nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has left rates unchanged at their historic lows since March 2009.

Copyright Press Association 2010