The Bank of England announced today that it will keep its Bank Rate at half a per cent in the last review before the General Election on 7 May.

The announcement, made at midday, means that the base rate has been unchanged for a record period of over 6 years. The last time a change was made was in March 2009. The Asset Purchase Programme has been kept unchanged too at £375bn.

Despite predictions that a rate rise may happen this year, experts are now predicting that a rate rise is unlikely before next year and will depend partly on inflationary pressures and the state of the UK economy. With inflation at 0% at present there is little incentive to lower inflation any further.

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Governor Mark Carney and other senior bank figures hinted last year that a small rise in the near future could be possible as the economy continues to recover although any increases are expected to be small and gradual. Some experts have forecast that the bank base rate could eventually rise to more historic norms, perhaps in the range of 2.5% to 5%.

The minutes of the meeting will be published at 9.30 am on Wednesday 22 April.

Nick Dixon, investment director at Aegon UK, said: "A second general election is more likely to occur before the next rate rise with expectations of a rise constantly nudged back by economic headwinds.

"Recent MPC commentary has indicated that the extent of the deflation risk facing the country is currently dominating discussion. These discussions are pushing the notion of a rate rise to the back of the queue."