The Bank of England is set to retain its record-low interest rate and monetary stimulus unchanged as policymakers await more signs of a sustained recovery. The Monetary Policy Committee is expected to hold its key bank rate at 0.50 percent and quantitative easing at GBP 375 billion. Policymakers meet for a one-day rate setting meeting on Wednesday rather than the usual two days as some of the policymakers have to attend International Monetary Fund's spring meetings in Washington. The bank will announce the decision on April 10. With the central bank noting in the February Inflation Report that inflation is falling faster and the slack in the labor market is being used up more slowly than the MPC expected, the decision to leave Bank Rate on hold at this month's meeting should be straightforward, said Samuel Tombs, a UK economist at Capital Economics. In August last year, the bank pledged not to hike interest rate until the jobless rate hit 7 percent. The jobless rate was 7.2 percent in three months to January. As the unemployment started falling faster than estimated, the BoE widened the scope of its forward guidance in February, and assured markets that interest rates will not be raised before the second quarter of 2015. Economic indicators from the Office for National Statistics and the results of the private survey underscored that the recovery in the U.K. has been robust. Industrial production expanded 0.9 percent in February, the fastest pace in eight months. Further, combating fears of poor consumer spending due to very wet weather and flooding, retail sales climbed 1.8 percent in February. Inflation fell below the 2 percent target in January for the first time since November 2009 and further reduced the squeeze on consumers' purchasing power. Inflation eased to 1.7 percent in February. The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday upgraded its forecasts for British economic growth, saying the U.K. will log the fastest growth among developed nations. The lender projects 2.9 percent expansion in 2014, up from the prior estimate of 2.4 percent. Similarly, the outlook for the next year was revised up to 2.5 percent from 2.2 percent.