LONDON, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of England has kept benchmark interest rates at a historic low of 0.5 percent and left its quantitative easing (QE) program unchanged, it was announced Thursday.

The move is largely in line with market expectations. The British central bank increased QE by 50 billion pounds (78 billion U.S. dollars) last month, which is expected to take another three months to complete.

The QE program, through which the bank pumps money into the economy to boost growth, now stands at 375 billion pounds.

Britain saw a further economic contraction in the second quarter this year, with GDP down 0.7 percent, following a 0.3-percent drop in the last quarter of 2011 and in the first quarter this year.

On Monday, the Bank of England and the treasury launched a "Funding for Lending" scheme, under which the bank will provide cheap funding for commercial banks on condition that the latter increase loans to households as well as small and mid-size companies.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank maintained interest rates at a record low of 0.75 percent, after cutting it from 1 percent last month. Enditem

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