British banks cut their key interest rates.

The reduction of half a point to 9% came as authorities sought to restrain a further rise in the value of the buoyant pound. The cuts in bank base rates are the fourth in nine weeks. The latest round was signaled by the Bank of England, the central bank, which shaved rates at which it operates in the money markets. Barclays Bank then cut its base rate, followed by other big commercial banks.