The Bank of England has left British interest rates on hold at 3.75%.
Rates were maintained at their 48-year low for the fourth consecutive month at the end of Eddie George's last meeting in charge of the bank's nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee.
Few analysts had expected a rate cut from the bank's Monetary Policy Committee, following recent data, particularly from the services sector, showing signs of a Baghdad bounce for the UK economy.
But there had been pressure from industry leaders for action to prop up the manufacturing sector, which remained firmly in recession last month.
