The Bank of England decided in its meeting today, Thursday, to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, to reach 4.50%, as expected, by a majority of 7-2, as two members preferred to keep them unchanged.

And the monetary policy statement issued by the bank stated that inflation in the United Kingdom is very high, above 10% levels, which is twice the bank’s target of 2% due to the invasion of Ukraine, which caused a significant rise in food prices and some foodstuffs, but the bank expects inflation to decline strongly in April .

The committee expected inflation to reach 4.75% in the fourth quarter of this year, before ending the year at levels of just over 3.5%, while the committee expects that the gross domestic product will remain stable in the first half of this year, and unemployment rates are expected to remain less than 4%.

% until the end of the year 2024. The committee confirmed that it will monitor the indicators of continuous inflation pressures, and if there are indications of more continuous pressures, more tightening in monetary policy will be required, and the bank will adjust the interest rate when necessary.