The Bank of England has kept its cost of borrowing unchanged at 0.5% for a fourth consecutive month. The decision was widely expected.
Earlier this week, the British Chambers of Commerce business group said that the worst of the recession in Britain was over, but added that talk of a recovery was premature.
Latest official data showed the UK economy contracted by 2.4% in the first three months of the year, a decline not exceeded for 51 years.
Also, unemployment rose to 2.261 million in the three months to April. The BBC reports this was the highest level since November 1996.
