Earlier at the Rome summit, U.N. chief Ban Ki-Moon called for a drastic increase in food production to meet the demands of a rising population and stave off a crisis brought about by oil prices, climate change and the impact of the biofuel market.

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Some economists had been hoping for a rate cut after recent industrial and manufacturing data supplied further evidence that economic growth in Britain was slowing, but the central bank is more worried about high inflation brought on by rising oil and food prices.

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