UK interest rates were left on hold at 0.5% for another month today amid fears that the pace of recovery in the UK economy is slowing.
The Bank of England's base rate has been at its current level for more than five years, with economists not expecting an increase until next summer.
This reflects the uncertain global outlook and signs that the UK's recovery is losing momentum, as well as the diminishing threat of inflation.
The bank also left the scale of its quantitative easing (QE) programme to boost the UK money supply unchanged at £375 billion.
There was some better news from the UK today when it emerged that manufacturing output rose 0.4% in September.
But the pace of expansion in the sector is still slower than earlier in the year as a strong pound and euro zone stagnation chokes off export demand.performances in construction, services and manufacturing.
The reading for services, which represents three-quarters of UK economic output, stood at a lower-than-forecast 56.2, compared to 58.7 in September and the lowest since May last year. A reading above 50 denotes growth.
The Bank's chief economist Andy Haldane admitted recently that the outlook had become gloomier and signalled that the likely date for a rate hike, which had been in February, has been pushed back towards the middle of next year.
Two members of the Bank's rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC) have voted for a rise since August but have been unable to persuade anyone else on the nine-member body to join them.
Details of the voting at today's meeting will be published later this month.
Policymakers had access to the Bank's latest quarterly projections at this week's meeting, with these likely to show that inflation is less of a threat due to falling shop prices and oil market weakness.
Brent crude slumped as low as $82 a barrel earlier this week, its lowest level in just over four years, due to concerns about over-supply.
City experts now predict the first rate hike will come next summer, avoiding a politically-sensitive timing clash with the general election in May.
Even though inflation is just 1.2%, economists are concerned about the long-term nature of the UK economic recovery, with wage growth at 0.7%.
And official data last month showed the UK economy expanded by 0.7% between July and September, following growth of 0.9% in the previous quarter. The Bank of England said it expects fourth-quarter growth of 0.8%.
More signs of a slowdown in the UK economy emerged this week after monthly releases from Markit and CIPS highlighted weaker performances in construction, services and manufacturing.
The reading for services, which represents three-quarters of UK economic output, stood at a lower-than-forecast 56.2, compared to 58.7 in September and the lowest since May last year. A reading above 50 denotes growth.
The Bank's chief economist Andy Haldane admitted recently that the outlook had become gloomier and signalled that the likely date for a rate hike, which had been in February, has been pushed back towards the middle of next year.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank kept interest rates at record lows at its policy meeting in Frankfurt today,
