LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England has increased its monetary stimulus by a bigger than anticipated 150 billion pounds ($195 billion) as it tries to boost the economy through new lockdown measures.

In a statement released Thursday, the bank's rate-setting panel said its challenge is to respond to the economic and financial impact of the resurgence of the coronavirus, which has led to the reimposition of widespread restrictions across the U.K.

The consensus in financial markets was that the bank would raise its bond-buying program by 100 billion pounds.

The Monetary Policy Committee also kept its main interest rate unchanged at the record low of 0.1%.