Is the Bank of England done with raising rates?

Is the UK set for its 15th consecutive interest rate hike later this month? Markets expect that rates will peak closer to 6 per cent – up from 5.25 per cent now – but this might not happen immediately – or at all. Speaking at today’s Treasury Select Committee, the Bank’s governor Andrew Bailey suggested rate hikes were no longer a matter of certainty, as the headline rate of inflation is now back on track with the Bank’s projections for a significant fall by the end of the year.

Speaking to MPs this afternoon, Bailey said that the UK had moved on ‘from a period … where it was clear rates needed to rise going forward,’ insisting ‘we’re not in that place any more’. He is in no position to say what will happen later this month when the Monetary Policy Committee meets: whether rates rise or not will be determined by their vote.