INSTANT VIEW - Bank keeps interest rate steady at 5.0 percent

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England kept interest rates steady at 5.00 percent on Thursday, as widely expected.

Following are reactions from business groups and economists to the decision.

HOWARD ARCHER, GLOBAL INSIGHT

"...the future path of interest rates is currently highly uncertain as the Bank of England faces its most challenging economic environment since at least the early 1990's.

"We believe it is most likely that interest rates will stay at 5.00 percent for many months to come, as very weak economic activity increasingly contains and then dilutes underlying inflationary pressures.

"However, given that inflation is set to rise well above 4.0 percent over the coming months and is likely to still be around 4.0 percent late in 2008, the Bank of England will probably be reluctant to cut interest rates until 2009 unless the economy really falls off a cliff over the coming months."

STEPHEN ROBERTSON, BRITISH RETAIL CONSORTIUM

"No move is the right move for now. With increasing fears of recession, it's crucial the Bank pushes the economy towards better health rather than over the edge.

"Raising rates would be pointlessly kicking customers and the economy when they are down. As the Governor of the Bank of England acknowledges, almost all the increase in Consumer Price Index inflation this year is due to rising global fuel and food prices.