The Bank of England is set to raise interest rates for the 12th consecutive time on Thursday, in a bid to tackle stubbornly high inflation that is currently twice the level

of the US and significantly higher than in the euro zone. Analysts predict a quarter-of-a-percentage point increase in Bank Rate to 4.5%, with the focus on any signals from the Bank of England regarding potential future rate rises.

A recent poll by Reuters suggested that the BoE would keep rates steady for the rest of the year, but Goldman Sachs now predicts that borrowing costs will continue to rise to a peak of 5% in August due to a lack of respite in price pressures and a stronger-than-expected economy.

Two out of the nine Monetary Policy Committee members voted in March to keep rates on hold, and are expected to do so again this month, whilst Governor Andrew Bailey and other members remain concerned about inflation rates, which were more than five times their target in March. Photo by Katie Chan, Wikimedia commons.