The Bank of England has raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time in three years and three months.
On November 5, the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee voted to increase the rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.00%.
This marks the first increase since August 2023, when the rate was raised to 5.25%, the highest level in 15 years.
All nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee supported the decision, with eight members favoring a 0.25 percentage point increase, while one member advocated for a larger increase of 0.5 percentage points to 4.25%.
Market experts surveyed by Reuters had predicted a 7-to-2 vote in favor of the rate hike.
Since raising the rate in August 2023, the Bank of England had either maintained or lowered rates, with the last reduction occurring in December of the previous year. From January to September of this year, the rate was held steady for six consecutive months.
However, following the onset of the war in Iran in February, inflationary pressures have persisted, prompting a shift in monetary policy.
The consumer price index rose by 3.5% in September, significantly exceeding the bank's target of 2%, marking the highest rate in 11 months.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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