Is interest about to hit 1.75%?
THE Bank of England hinted at the steepest interest rate rise in nearly 30 years last night.
Governor Andrew Bailey said a 0.5 percentage point rate increase, to tackle soaring inflation, would be ‘on the table’ when the Bank’s monetary policy committee meets in two weeks.
That would be the biggest rise since 1995 and take rates to 1.75 per cent, the highest since December 2008.
Inflation is at a 40-year high of 9.1 per cent and is expected to rise further.
Mr Bailey said the Bank would ‘act forcefully’ if it saw signs of inflation embedded in the economy. ‘A 50 basis point increase will be among the choices on the table when we next meet,’ he added.
It came as Nadhim Zahawi last night vowed to seize Brexit opportunities.
In his first official speech as Chancellor at London’s Mansion House, he said a law, introduced today, to reform EU insurance rules will ‘unleash growth across our financial services sector and will allow us to unlock tens of billions of pounds of investment’.