Bank of England hikes key rate by 25 basis points to 4.5%

Investing.com -- The Bank of England increased its key interest rate by another 25 basis points on Thursday, bringing borrowing costs up to 4.50% - their highest level since 2008.

The hike, which was widely expected by economists, was supported by seven of the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee, while two voted to keep rates unchanged.

Policymakers have now chosen to lift rates at 12 straight meetings. Like many other central banks in major economies, the BoE has embarked on a campaign of monetary tightening aimed at bringing down sky-high inflation.

While price growth has shown early signs of moderating in places like the U.S. and the euro zone, it has remained stubbornly elevated at double-digit levels in Britain. The consumer price index in the country jumped by an annualized rate of 10.1% in March, although the BoE anticipates that inflation will decelerate sharply "from April."

"Inflation in the U.K. is too high," the BoE noted in a statement, adding that its recently sticky nature is due to a spike in energy and food prices following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Ultimately, the bank hopes to bring inflation down to its target rate of 2%.