Roundup: Bank of England lowers benchmark rate to 5 pct, first cut in 4 years

LONDON, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of England (BoE) has voted to cut its benchmark interest rate to five percent, the United Kingdom's (UK) central bank said in a statement on Thursday.

At a meeting on Wednesday, the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority of 5-4 to reduce the interest rate by 0.25 percentage point, to 5 percent. Four members preferred to maintain the rate at 5.25 percent.