Bank of England hints that UK borrowing rates will stay high after its new hike

By PAN PYLAS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England has raised its main interest rate to a fresh 15-year high as it tries to bring down persistently high inflation. The quarter-percentage point increase to 5.25% on Thursday was the central bank’s 14th hike in a row. There had been fears, certainly among hard-pressed households and businesses, that the bank would repeat its outsized half-point increase from June. But figures last month showing that inflation fell more than anticipated to 7.9% eased the pressure to act as aggressively again. With inflation four times the bank’s 2% target, the bank is expected to raise interest rates again over the coming months.