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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Richard Partington

Will the Bank of England push rates up with war set to drag spending power down?

woman shopping for bread in supermarket
Households will struggle to put bread on the table as the war pushes energy prices even higher. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

Soaring gas and electricity prices, high inflation, the worst squeeze for living standards in decades … The economic outlook was challenging even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Now conflict on European soil and economic warfare through sanctions has added to the pressure.

This week the Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates in response to inflationary pressures, as the war pushes up already high energy prices. It will be adding to the cost-of-living crisis by increasing the cost of borrowing, but the idea is to stop high rates of inflation becoming more permanent.

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