LONDON, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of England decided on Thursday to keep the lending rate on hold at 5.75 percent while it assesses the economic impact of the recent financial turmoil.

    While some experts have called on the Bank to trim interest rates to counter an expected economic slowdown next year, most policymakers decided to adopt a "wait-and-see" policy on rates until a clearer picture emerges of the effects of the global credit squeeze.

    Several influential bodies, including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Ernst and Young Item Club, have called for rates to be cut to gave a timely boost to the economy.

    The U.S. Federal Reserve cut the rates by a half-point last month. The move was prompted by concerns about the impact on the U.S. economy of the slump in the housing market and the consequent instability in financial markets.

    But Howard Archer, chief economist of Global Insight, said the prevailing economic conditions in Britain were not the same as in the United States, where the Fed had followed such a course.

    Members of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to keep rates on hold last month, before the Northern Rock banking crisis emerged.

    The Bank last changed interest rates in July, when they rose from 5.5 percent to 5.75 percent.