Bank of England keeps interest rate at 0.25 percent

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - The record low interest rate of 0.25 percent will remain unchanged, the Bank of England announced Thursday.

Six members of a committee regulating money policies in the U.K voted to keep the rate the same, while two others voted for a raise to 0.5 percent.

The BoE also downgraded its economy growth forecasts for 2017 and 2018 by 0.2 and 0.1 percentage points, respectively. The forecast for the current year was reduced to 1.7 percent from 1.9, while the estimate for 2018 was cut to 1.6 percent from 1.7.

The downgrade was attributed to a "sluggish" GDP growth, which was "expected to remain so in the near term".

The wage growth was also cut by 0.5 percent for 2018. The BoE said they expected a growth in wages by 3 percent next year despite the 3.5% forecast in May.

The British currency has fallen around 0.4 percent as a reaction to the announcement. The pound was being traded at $1.3165, having hit an 11-month high on Thursday morning.