On Wednesday, the Fed became the latest major central bank to reduce borrowing costs, cutting its main interest by half of a percentage point to roughly 4.8% from a two-decade high of 5.3%, where it had stood for 14 months. It also signaled that there will be more cuts to come in the next few months.

The Bank of England is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold on Thursday after the latest UK inflation figures remained stubbornly high. Most economists think the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) rate-setters will keep base rate unchanged at 5 per cent, its highest level since 2008, during the global financial crisis.

LONDON - The Bank of England held interest rates at 5.0% on Thursday and voted to run down its stock of British government bonds by another 100 billion pounds ($133 billion) over the coming 12 months,