Bank of England likely to hold rates

LONDON (AP) - The Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates steady at 0.5 percent and refrain from any further asset purchases when it finishes its monthly Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Monday.

The decision - delayed from last week because of the national election - is being made amid political uncertainty in Britain as leaders jostle for power after the poll resulted in a hung parliament.

Economists also note that growth data released over the past month has been weaker than anticipated, while inflation has been stronger than forecast.

Interest rates have been at a record low for more than year and the bank completed a 200 billion pound quantitative easing program of purchasing assets to boost the money supply in January.