Bank of England holds benchmark rate at 5.25 pct

LONDON, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of England (BoE) has voted to hold its benchmark interest rate at 5.25 percent, the United Kingdom's (UK) central bank said in a statement on Thursday.

At its meeting ending on Wednesday, the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority of 8-1 to leave the rate on hold. One member preferred to reduce the rate by 0.25 percentage points to 5 percent.

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