Investors in Britain's stock market will look to monetary policy when the Bank of England delivers its latest monthly interest rate decision on Thursday.
Most analysts are expecting the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee to keep borrowing costs at 5.75 percent owing to sliding British 12-month inflation and volatility on global stock market caused by the US housing crisis. "The current market volatility bolsters the case for unchanged rates," Investec Securities economist Philip Shaw said.
In August, the BoE voted unanimously to keep its key interest rate at a six-year high in the first uncontested decision since May.
The BoE has raised interest rates on five occasions since August 2006, each time by a quarter-point, to tackle high inflation.
The FTSE 100 index of leading shares finished Friday at 6,303.30 points, up 83.20 points or 1.34 percent from a week earlier.
The FTSE ended higher after rising strongly since Wednesday, in line with many other global indices as fears recede about a possible economic slowdown in the United States.
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