Just-In: Bank Of England Hikes Interest Rate to 15-Year High; Pound Falls Sharply
Bank Of England Hikes Interest Rates To 15-Year High Unlike the U.S. Federal Reserve or the European Central Bank – which also both raised rates by a quarter-point last week – the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee gave little suggestion that rate hikes were about to end as it battles high inflation. advertisement “The MPC will ensure that Bank Rate is sufficiently restrictive for sufficiently long to return inflation to the 2% target,” the BoE said in new guidance about the outlook for rates. “Some of the risks of more persistent inflationary pressures may have begun to crystallize,” it added. British inflation hit a 41-year high of 11.1% last year and has fallen more slowly than elsewhere, dropping to 7.9% in June, the highest of any major economy. Economists polled by Reuters last week forecast BoE rates would peak at 5.75% later this year. The BoE’s forecasts were based on recent market assumptions – which ha...