The Bank of England is expected to raise its benchmark interest rate for the first time in more than three years as soaring energy costs push up global inflation.
The BoE is forecast to tighten borrowing costs by a quarter point to 4 per cent, finally catching up with the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank in tightening borrowing costs since the start of the Middle East conflict.
“Borrowers are braced for at least one rate hike” from the BoE this year as “consumer confidence has been jarred by the prospect of prices edging ever higher in the wake of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East”, noted Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.
