LONDON (AFP) - The outlook for British economic growth and inflation is "unusually uncertain," the Bank of England said on Wednesday in its latest quarterly assessment of the economy.

"The prospects for economic growth remain unusually uncertain, reflecting the exceptional economic and financial factors affecting the outlook," the BoE said in the report.

BoE Governor Mervyn King later told a press conference that "the (British) economy will eventually heal, but the process may be slow."

The British pound slumped against the euro and dollar following the report as dealers said the outlook indicated that Britain would not see a rise in interest rates any time soon.

The Bank of England last week decided to keep interest rates at a record-low 0.5 percent as Britain battles its sharpest slowdown in 30 years.

It agreed also to pump out another 50 billion pounds (S$110.8 billion) of new money to boost bank lending.
Meanwhile its latest report suggested that the British economy would return to growth at the start of 2010.