FTSE higher on positive banks, oils; ignores BoE

* FTSE up 0.3 pct, ignores BoE decision to hold rates

* Banks gain after better-than-expected Barclays results

* Oils, miners rise, tracking higher commodity prices

By Atul Prakash

LONDON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Britain's blue-chip index showed little reaction to the Bank of England's move to keep interest rates unchanged on Thursday and was up 0.3 percent on positive commodity stocks and stronger banking shares.

By 1128 GMT, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 .FTSE rose 16.5 points at 5,502.6, after gaining 0.6 percent in the previous session. But the UK benchmark index has lost nearly 15 percent this year after five consecutive years of gains.

The Bank of England held interest rates at 5 percent on for the fourth straight month, and borrowing costs are expected to remain on hold for a while as policymakers balance slowing growth and rising inflation. [ID:nL7103078] "No change was by far the market consensus, despite the minutes from the previous meeting showing a three-way split," said Martin Slaney, head of derivatives at GFT Global Markets.

"The reality is that despite a clearly slowing economy, the twin evil of rising inflation simply rules out any possibility of a majority decision in favour of a cut or a hike in rates for now."   Continued...