The Bank of England is poised to cut its benchmark interest rate by another quarter point to 3.75 per cent this week, as rising unemployment and the UK’s stagnating economy ease concerns about inflation.
Financial markets widely expect the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee to reduce interest rates from 4 per cent, bringing the central bank closer to an end in the rate-cutting cycle that began in 2024.
Thursday’s announcement is set to show splits among the committee’s nine members, with the vote hanging heavily on the views of Andrew Bailey. When the MPC last met in November, the BoE governor signalled that he was open to lowering rates if economic data continued to point to declining inflation.