The Bank of England (BoE) announced its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 9-0 to maintain Bank Rate at 0.1 percent at its March meeting.

The MPC also voted unanimously to continue with the program of £200 billion of UK government bond and sterling non-financial investment-grade corporate bond purchases to take the total stock of these purchases to £645 billion.

In its statement, the BoE notes:

• Economic consequences of these developments are becoming more apparent and a very sharp reduction in activity is likely;
• There is a risk of longer-term damage to the economy, especially if there are business failures on a large scale or significant increases in unemployment;
• There is little evidence as yet to assess the precise magnitude of the economic shock from Covid-19;
• It is probable that global GDP will fall sharply during the first half of this year;
• Unemployment is likely to rise rapidly across a range of economies;
• The nature of the economic shock from Covid-19 is very different from those to which the MPC has previously had to respond;
• The scale and duration of the shock to economic activity, while highly uncertain, will be large and sharp but should ultimately prove temporary, particularly if job losses and business failures can be minimized;
• If needed, the MPC can expand asset purchases further;
• The MPC will continue to monitor the situation closely and, consistent with its remit, stands ready to respond further as necessary to guard against an unwarranted tightening in financial conditions, and support the economy.