Bank of England raises interest rates for third month in a row

The Bank of England has raised interest rates for the third month in a row.

The Bank also warned that the Ukraine conflict could see under-pressure households hit with double-digit inflation later this year.

Members of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted eight to one to increase rates from 0.5% to 0.75%. The move takes rates back to where they were before the pandemic struck.

Commenting on the rise, Alpesh Paleja, Lead Economist at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said: ‘With ongoing conflict in Ukraine pushing global commodity prices higher and exacerbating supply chain disruption, the MPC are clearly making moves to counter growing inflation.

‘But they will be walking a tightrope in the months ahead, having to both keep price pressures in-check and manage the impact of tighter monetary policy on economic growth – particularly against a background of rising living costs.’