UK output is to crash by 14 percent this year on the coronavirus, the Bank of England said Thursday as it left its interest rate at a record-low 0.1 percent.
"However the economic outlook evolves, the bank will act as necessary to deliver the monetary and financial stability that are essential for long-term prosperity and meet the needs of the people," said BoE governor Andrew Bailey.
"This is our total and unwavering commitment."
Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the Bank of England slashed its main interest rate to 0.1 percent and decided to pump £200 billion ($244 billion, 226 billion euros) into the UK economy to get retail banks lending to fragile businesses.
Two members of the nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee, but not Bailey, voted at the latest meeting to increase the stimulus by a further £100 billion.
"Without further monetary stimulus, there could be greater scarring effects on the economy via both demand and supply channels," argued Jonathan Haskel and Michael Saunders, according to minutes of the gathering that took place Wednesday.
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