Bank Of England Hikes Rates

The Bank of England cut its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.25 per cent amid concerns over the potential shock to global growth emanating from the tariff policies of the Trump administration. The decision Thursday was widely expected, though there was an array of opinion on the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee, with two voting for a bigger half-point cut to four per cent, and two voting to hold rates. Bank Governor Andrew Bailey said inflationary pressures have continued to ease, paving the way for the fourth quarter-point rate cut since August. "The past few weeks have shown how unpredictable the global economy can be," he said. "That's why we need to stick to a gradual and careful approach to further rate cuts. Ensuring low and stable inflation is our top priority." The decision is the first since President Donald Trump made his tariff announcement in early April. Though most tariffs were paused for 90 days following the ensuing market turmoil, ...

The Bank of England has cut its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point after inflation across the UK fell below its target rate of 2 per cent. In an announcement Thursday, the bank said its rate-setting panel lowered the benchmark rate to 4.75 per cent. That is its second cut in three months and follows a sharp decline in inflation over the past year. Central banks worldwide dramatically increased borrowing costs from near zero during the coronavirus pandemic when prices started to shoot up, first as a result of supply chain issues built up and then because of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine which pushed up energy costs. As inflation rates have recently fallen from multi-decade highs, the central banks have started cutting interest rates. The US Federal Reserve is also expected to cut interest rates later Thursday. Economists warn that worries about the future path of prices following last week's tax-raising budget from the new Labour government and the econo

The Bank of England has kept its main interest rate unchanged at 5% despite a big cut from the US Federal Reserve, its first since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic more than four years ago. The decision Thursday was widely expected amid ongoing concerns about inflation within the bank's monetary policy committee, particularly the elevated levels in the crucial services sector, which accounts for around 80% of the British economy. Figures on Wednesday showed that inflation overall in the UK held steady at an annual rate of 2.2% in August, still above the bank's goal. The bank, which last month cut interest rates for the first time since the pandemic, is widely expected to reduce borrowing costs again at its next meeting in November, especially as it will have details of the government's budget on Oct 30. On Wednesday, the Fed cut its main interest by half of a percentage point to roughly 4.8% from a two-decade high of 5.3%, where it had stood for 14 months. It also signalled th

The BoE said on Thursday its Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 to keep rates at a 16-year high of 5.25% after Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden joined Swati Dhingra in voting for a cut to 5%

The BoE raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5% on Thursday as expected by a Reuters poll, taking borrowing costs to their highest since 2008

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Previously the BoE had forecast 2023 inflation at around 5%

The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates by as much as half a percentage point Thursday as it seeks to tame the double-digit inflation fuelling a cost-of-living crisis, public-sector strikes and fears of recession. The move would push the UK's key rate to 4 per cent. Economists suggest this may be the last big rate increase for Britain's central bank, which has approved 10 consecutive hikes since a post-pandemic surge in the world economy and Russia's war in Ukraine drove inflation to 40-year highs. The US Federal Reserve has already begun tapering its response, boosting its key rate by just a quarter-point on Wednesday. The European Central Bank, meanwhile, is expected to go big again, with a half-point hike on Thursday. Optimism grew that rate increases may begin to tail off after UK inflation eased for a second straight month to 10.5 per cent in December, down from a peak of 11.1 per cent in October. That's still far higher than in the US and the 20-country eurozon

Central bank raises bank rate to 3% from 2.25%

The Bank of England has announced its biggest interest rate increase in three decades as it tries to beat back stubbornly high inflation fuelled by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the disastrous economic policies of former Prime Minister Liz Truss. The bank boosted its key rate by three-quarters of a percentage point Thursday, to 3%, after consumer price inflation returned to a 40-year high in September. The aggressive move to prevent inflation from becoming embedded in the economy was in line with market expectations after a more cautious half-point increase six weeks ago. The interest rate decision is the first since Truss' government announced 45 billion pounds ($52 billion) of unfunded tax cuts that sparked turmoil on financial markets, pushed up mortgage costs and forced Truss from office after just six weeks. Her successor, Rishi Sunak, has warned of spending cuts and tax increases as he seeks to undo the damage and show that Britain is committed to paying its bills. The ra

The Bank of England stepped in on Wednesday by offering to buy some of the country's long-term debt as an emergency measure to prevent "material risk" to the country's financial stability, amid an unprecedented warning by the IMF that the UK's recent mini-budget risked making the cost-of-living crisis worse. The central bank said it would buy as many long-dated government bonds as needed between now and October 14 in a bid to calm some of the mayhem that followed the Liz Truss-led government's massive tax-cutting and government borrowing mini-budget last Friday. It has seen the pound tumble against the dollar as investors demand a greater rate of return for UK bonds because the level of government borrowing required to fund the financial measures have spooked the markets. The Bank is monitoring developments in financial markets very closely in light of the significant repricing of UK and global financial assets, the Bank of England said in a statement. This repricing has become mor

The Bank of England has raised UK interest rates by 0.5 percentage points to 2.25 per cent in an attempt to combat soaring inflation amid the cost of living crisis, the media reported

Traders pared bets on future interest-rate increases and the pound pared its gain against the dollar. It was up 0.6% to $1.1340 as of 12:04 p.m. London time

The BoE's Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-1 for a half percentage point rise in Bank Rate to 1.75% - its highest level since late 2008 - from 1.25%

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That would take Bank Rate to 1.25%, its highest level since January 2009, when Britain's economy was holed by the global financial crisis

The increase to 0.75%, was backed by eight of the bank's nine policy makers, with Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe voting for no change.

The BoE said inflation was set to reach around 8% in April -almost a percentage point higher than it forecast last month - and warned it could peak even higher later in the year

The move follows hot on the heels of a rate hike in December, marking the first back-to-back increases in Bank Rate since 2004

While most analysts see monetary policy normalisation across the world in 2022, rate trajectories are likely to diverge across geographies, they said