Bank of England hikes interest rates by 50 basis points

London, August 4

The Bank of England raised interest rates by half a percentage point on Thursday, marking its biggest interest rate increase in more than 27 years as it seeks to tame accelerating inflation driven by the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The increase pushes the bank’s key interest rate to 1.75%, the highest since the depths of the global financial crisis in December 2008.

Most economists expected the hike after Gov. Andrew Bailey said two weeks ago that the UK’s central bank would “act forcefully” if the inflation picture worsened.

The Bank of England has been criticised for moving too slowly to combat inflation, which accelerated to a 40-year high of 9.4% in June and has driven a cost-of-living crisis.

While the central bank has approved five consecutive rate increases since December, none has been more than a quarter-point. — AP

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