Bank of England keeps rates steady, promises more asset purchases if needed

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England kept its key interest rate at a record-low 0.1% on Thursday and said it was ready to ramp up its recently expanded bond-buying programme further if needed to help Britain's economy cope with the coronavirus crisis.The central bank, which rushed to take emergency measures on two occasions earlier this month as the government shut down swathes of the economy, said it was not able to precisely assess the size of the looming hit to growth."If needed, the MPC..