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.

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,

The British central bank has emphasized its intention to move steadily to ensure that inflation continues to slow.