The Bank of England raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point Thursday in its battle with inflation and said the UK economy would dodge a recession as energy prices fall. The decision to impose a 12th consecutive hike takes the main borrowing rate for commercial banks in the United Kingdom to 4.5%, the highest since October 2008. It comes a week after the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank also raised rates by a quarter-point.
” The central bank was paying particular attention to indicators of “inflation persistence,” including tightness in the jobs market, the behavior of wage growth and services price inflation, he added. “If there were to be evidence of more persistent pressures, then further tightening in monetary policy would be required,” Bailey said.