In a move widely viewed as surprising, the Bank of England raised UK interest rates from 5% to 5.25%, the highest in five years. In a press release the Bank stated that "an increase in Bank Rate of 0.25 percentage points to 5.25% was necessary to bring CPI inflation back to the target in the medium term".
The last publicly released value for inflation (measured according to the consumer price index) stood at 2.7%, above the Government target of 2%. However the Bank and Government receive advance figures, not due to be publicly released until next week. Analysts have speculated that these figures may explain the rise.
Following the announcement the FTSE 100 fell.
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has been responsible for setting the UK's official interest rate each month since 1997. Prior to this the base rates were controlled by the Treasury and the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
In a separate decision the European Central Bank maintained the interest rate within the Eurozone at its previous value of 3.5%.
Sources
- Press Release: Bank of England Raises Bank Rate by 0.25 Percentage Points to 5.25% — Bank of England, January 11, 2007
- Shock as UK rates rise to 5.25% — BBC News Online, January 11, 2007
- Dearbail Jordan. Bank raises interest rates to 5.25% — Times Online, January 11, 2007
- Sumeet Desai. Bank raises rates near 6-year high — Reuters, January 11, 2007
Source & Attribution
Originally published by Wikinews on January 11, 2007. Original author: Wikinews.
CC BY 2.5. Photograph: The Bank of England in Threadneedle Street, London. Photo: Adrian Pingstone Taken by Adrian Pingstone in November 2004 and released to the public domain. Source file. Public domain. Public domain.
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