The Bank of England is set to make a further announcement on interest rates, as markets and consumers brace for a 14th consecutive rise in the cost of borrowing.
The central bank is widely expected to raise its base rate by a further 0.25 points to 5.25 per cent on Thursday, the highest level since February 2008, as part of its ongoing bid to tame inflation by cooling Britain’s economy.
Such a move would be lower than the shock hike of 0.5 per cent announced in June, and comes after the latest inflation statistics suggested price rises had finally slowed by a greater margin than anticipated.
Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation was 7.9 per cent in June, down from 8.7 per cent in May and the lowest rate since March 2022, according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
As a result, some economists now believe an end to the cycle of hiking interest rates may be in sight, with the base rate potentially peaking at around 5.75 per cent this year.
