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Article: ECB, Bank of England leave respective interest rates steady at 4 percent and 5 percent
- Article from:
- AP Worldstream
- Article date:
- May 8, 2008
- Author:
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The European Central Bank and the Bank of England both held their official interest rates steady on Thursday as rising inflation outweighed concerns about slowing economic growth across the euro zone.
But the two banks are expected to take different paths next month when the ECB is likely to again keep its borrowing rate at 4 percent to fight inflation, while many economists expect the British central bank to cut its own rate by a quarter percentage point from the current 5 percent.
Soaring food and energy prices have made the European banks reluctant to follow the U.S. Federal Reserve in cutting interest rates to shore up consumer confidence and economic growth. Interest ...