Interest rates remain unchanged

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The reprieve is expected to be short-lived as the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is widely predicted to raise rates by another quarter of a percentage point next month. It has increased rates three times since August.

Investec economist David Page said the MPC's no-change decision was a "close call" and it was only holding fire until the Bank's quarterly inflation forecasts next month.

He added: "We think that rates will rise next month, but it's prudent for the Bank not to rush ahead with a rate rise this month."

Industry leaders welcomed the news that rates have been put on hold.

David Kern, economic adviser to the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "An increase in interest rates at this time would have posed new and unpredictable threats for British businesses. The cumulative impact of three Bank rate increases announced since August has not yet been fully felt."

The Bank recently indicated that interest rates would need to rise one more time to keep inflation near its long-term target of 2% and economists have forecast another quarter point hike before the summer.

Figures out on house prices, business profitability and consumer spending have shown the UK's economy to be in rude health.

The Consumer Prices Index , which is the Bank's official measure of inflation, rose to 2.8% in February from 2.7%, while the Retail Prices Index, which includes the cost of housing, hit 4.6% - its highest level for more than 15 years.

And the latest figures on UK business activity indicated that market pricing power is still strong, adding to the view that the economy could absorb another rate increase.