London

In a statement Thursday, it said it was increasing its government bond-buying program by a further 100 billion pounds (USD 125 billion). The intention is to keep a lid on interest rates in financial markets and keep money flowing through the financial system.

The meeting of the bank's monetary policy committee is taking place in the wake of figures showing that the UK economy shrank by a fifth in April alone as a result of the country's lockdown with so many sectors shuttered. The committee also kept the bank's main interest rate unchanged at 0.1 per cent, as anticipated.

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