People walk past the Bank of England in London, in this 2022 file photo. AP-YonhapThe Bank of England raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5 percent on Thursday, taking borrowing costs to their highest since 2008 with its 12th consecutive rate rise, as it seeks to curb the fastest inflation of any major economy. The central bank no longer predicts recession after it revised up its growth forecasts from gloomy numbers released in February, the biggest such improvement since it first published forecasts in 1997. But it also now expects inflation to be slower to fall than it had hoped, mostly due to unexpectedly big and persistent rises in food prices. A Reuters poll last week showed most economists expected the BoE to keep rates on hold after a quarter-point rise in May, but interest rate futures before Thursday's decision priced in a 5 percent peak for interest rates this autumn.

Source: The Times May 11, 2023 18:44 UTC