Bank of England cuts interest rate to 4.5 per cent
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has voted to cut its interest rate by half a percentage point to 4.5 per cent.
The move comes as five other central banks, including the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank cut their respective rates by an identical amount.
In what was a co-ordinated move across the world's leading economies the central banks of Canada, Switzerland and Sweden followed a similar path, while China cut its interest rate by 27 basis points.
The UK rate cut comes a day after the government and the Bank of England agreed a £50bn funding package for the country's leading banks.
It is hoped the interest rate cut, together with what amounts to a rescue package for the country's leading financial institutions, will restore confidence to the UK's battered economy.
Bodies representing manufacturing industries welcomed the news, the stock market also began to respond positively to the cut, regaining today's earlier losses; the FTSE100 was up nearly 50 points at 4,650.
