Bank of England keeps rate at record 0.25% low

London

THE Bank of England (BOE) said on Thursday that it was still likely to cut interest rates to just above zero later this year, even though the initial "Brexit" hit to Britain's economy was proving less severe than it expected only last month.

The Bank's nine rate-setters voted unanimously to keep Bank Rate at its new record low of 0.25 per cent, the lowest level in the BOE's 322-year history.

They also voted 9-0 to keep the Bank's bond-buying programme target at £435 billion (S$783.8 billion) and to continue with its new plan to buy up to £10 billion worth of corporate bonds.

Last month, the BOE decided to help the economy cope with the shock of the decision to le…