UK interest rates have been left unchanged at 5% following the latest meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

The decision to hold rates had been widely expected amid concerns about the pace of inflation.

Rising food and fuel prices pushed inflation to 3% in April, well above the government target of 2%.

The MPC has already cut interest rates three times since December 2007 in an attempt to help the slowing economy.

However, the economic slowdown and falling house prices had led some to call for another cut in rates to boost spending.

Businesses squeezed Many economists feel that the MPC needs to wait and see whether higher food and fuel prices lead to higher wages or lower spending in other areas before changing rates.

If inflation rises above 3% then Bank of England governor Mervyn King must write to the chancellor to explain why.

At the MPC's last meeting in May, only one of its nine members voted to cut rates.

"The Bank had little option this month other than to leave interest rates on hold," said Ian McCafferty, chief economic adviser to the employers' group, the CBI.

"Oil and commodity prices are still of great concern and businesses are having to raise prices as profit margins get squeezed further."



Slowdown predicted

House prices are falling as the credit crunch makes lenders reluctant to provide mortgages.

The latest figures from the biggest mortgage lender, the Halifax, showed a 2.4% fall in house prices during May.

This week, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development predicted that UK growth would slow to 1.8% this year and to 1.4% in 2009. It said the global credit crisis, the high costs of commodities such as oil and slowing property markets were all hurting the UK economy.