A man walks past the Bank of England, at the financial district in London, on May 11. AP-YonhapThe Bank of England surprised many investors by raising interest rates half a percentage point on Thursday, saying there had been "significant" news suggesting Britain's persistently high inflation would take even longer to fall. "If we don't raise rates now, it could be worse later." High inflation is also a problem for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has pledged to halve the pace of price growth this year before a national election expected in 2024. Asked by a reporter if the BoE had not acted decisively enough to halt inflation earlier, Sunak said: "It's right that the Bank of England takes strong action to bring inflation down".

Source: The Times June 23, 2023 01:20 UTC