After official data revealed that UK inflation unexpectedly increased to 10.4% a year in February, the Monetary Policy Committee approved the widely anticipated move to raise interest rates to 4.25% by a 7-2 margin.
In the wake of recent bank collapses in the US and Switzerland, the bank’s Financial Policy Committee has determined that the UK banking sector “remains resilient.”
On Thursday, March 18, 2021, a hallway next to the Bank of England (BOE) in the City of London, United Kingdom.
Getty Images | Bloomberg | Hollie Adams
BRITAIN – On Thursday, the Bank of England increased interest rates by 25 basis points in an effort to combat the ongoing high inflation and banking system worries.
Interest rates were raised to 4.25% by the Monetary Policy Committee by a 7-2 vote, as was generally anticipated following official statistics released on WednesdayIn its summary, the MPC said that while core consumer price inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, has remained high, global growth is anticipated to be better than predicted in its February policy report. The Bank of England predicts that the additional fiscal assistance Jeremy Hunt, the Treasury Secretary, offered in last week’s Spring Budget will boost UK GDP by about 0.3% over the next few years.
The MPC stated in its report that although “GDP is likely to have stayed essentially flat around the turn of the year,” it is now anticipated to modestly increase in the second quarter as opposed to the 0.4% decrease anticipated in the February report.
Considering that the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) has been maintained at £2,500 for three more months