Bank of England Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged at 0.5% LONDON - The Bank of England kept its main interest rate at a record low on Thursday, as expected, amid concerns that the economic turmoil on the European continent and high oil prices will hurt the British economy. Britain's central bank left the interest rate unchanged at 0.5 percent. The Bank of England also kept its bond purchasing program at £325 billion, or $510 billion, after increasing the stimulus plan by £50 billion last month. "The high oil price is a concern and a messy Greek default could still be extremely damaging," Simon Hayes, a senior economist at Barclays Capital, said. Unless those risks disappear there will always be a little bit of nervousness in the U.K. Consumer price inflation has slowed recently, alleviating some pressure on households but it remains above the Bank of England's 2 percent target. An increase in crude oil prices this year has driven up energy costs; benchmark crude prices are over $100 a barrel, and some economists said prices could climb further this year. The European Central Bank is widely expected to say later Thursday that it will leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged after a recent massive injection of cheap credit. The E.C.B. president, Mario Draghi, is expected to hold a press conference in Frankfurt and give more detail on the central bank's decision. Banks across Europe tapped into the central bank's funding opportunity, known as a long-term refinancing operation or L.T.R.O., which offers funds at the benchmark interest rate for three years in order to alleviate symptoms of a possible credit crunch. In Britain, economists expect the Bank of England to refrain from adding to its current asset purchasing program for at least another two months. Britain's economy ground to a halt as companies were reluctant to invest in light of economic uncertainty, consumers hold back spending because of concern about unemployment and bank lending continues to be tepid. The John Lewis Partnership, which owns Britain's largest department-store chain, said Wednesday that annual profit fell 3.8 percent and that it cut its staff bonuses for the first time in three years. House prices fell in February and retail sales declined even as many stores tried to lure customers with discounts. The government is seeking to fuel economic growth by increasing lending by banks to businesses. British banks had missed an earlier lending target set by the government. Britons are waiting for the government to give an update on its finances and any possible tax increases on March 21, when George Osborne, the chancellor of the Exchequer, is to present the annual budget to Parliament. But analysts have said that Mr. Osborne has little room for maneuver if he wants to stick to his debt reduction plan.