'Risky' fourth straight rate hike expected from Bank of England as inflation soars - 04 mai 2022
Annual U.K. inflation hit a 30-year high of 7% in March as food and energy prices continued to soar. The Bank imposed its third hike in a row at its March meeting, taking the bank rate to 0.75%, and the market expects a 25 basis point increase to 1% when the Monetary Policy Committee meets on Thursday.
Given the nature of the inflationary pressure, Berenberg Senior Economist Kallum Pickering said in a note entitled “BOE preview: A risky hike” on Tuesday that the Bank’s widely anticipated hike is “not without risk.” “The net result is likely to be an inflation forecast that peaks around 9% in April and stays not far below that throughout 2022, and an economic outlook that features at least one-quarter of negative growth this year,” he added.