Why are central banks pushing to raise interest rates?

The Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, said they must tread a ‘narrow path’ between responding to high inflation and weaker growth. Photograph: Reuters

Central banks around the world are pushing for the sharpest rise in interest rates in decades in response to soaring inflation.

With living costs across advanced economies rising at the fastest annual rate since the 1980s, the US Federal Reserve, Bank of England and European Central Bank are taking aggressive action to cool inflationary pressure.