Bank of England governor says the UK’s reputation was damaged by Truss’s mini-Budget
The Bank of England will later today make an announcement on interest rates as officials try to tame runaway inflation.
Analysts expect the country’s central bank to hike rates by another 0.5 per cent, taking the base rate to 3.5 per cent.
Officials will make the announcement at noon.
A 0.5% hike would represent a slight cooling in rate increases, after the Bank’s MPC opted for a 0.75 percentage point rise last month – the highest single increase since 1989.
It will be the ninth time in a row that officials have raised rates as they try to tackle inflation, currently running at 10.7 per cent – down slightly from 11.1 in October but still at historically high levels.
Higher interest rates will bring fresh pain for mortgage holders on deals linked to the Bank’s base rate, while those with fixed rates set to expire soon will have to refinance at higher rates.
Graphs show inflation, interest rates and wage levels down the years
Inflation back at levels not seen since 1980s
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Wages fail to keep pace with inflation
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Cost of every day items goes up
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Matt Mathers15 December 2022 11:58
What are interest rates and how do they affect you?
Not up to speed on interest rates on how they affect people’s finances?
Here is a quick guide written up following the Bank’s last interest rate hike in November:
Matt Mathers15 December 2022 11:15
Bank of England expected to hike interest rates again despite softening inflation
My colleague Alastair Jamieson takes a closer look at what today’s interest rate rise means:
Matt Mathers15 December 2022 10:17
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live business and markets coverage.
We’ll be bringing you updates throughout the morning and afternoon as the Bank of England makes an announcement on interest rates.
Analysts expect a 0.5 per cent hike, taking the base rate to 0.5 per cent.
Stay tuned for all the latest updates.
Matt Mathers15 December 2022 10:14
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