Image of the Bank of England in December 2024.
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LONDON – The Bank of England on Thursday ended its final meeting of the year with a decision to leave interest rates unchanged, after UK inflation rose to an eight-month high.
Economists had widely expected interest rates to be held at the December meeting, as policymakers remain concerned about that Stubborn services inflation and wage growth.
The Bank of England has already raised its key interest rate from 5.25% to 4.75% this year in two moves of a quarter of a percentage point each.
Financial markets this week trimmed their bets on the pace of further cuts next year following the release of inflation data in November and wage growth in the summer, and are now pricing the upcoming cuts at around 50 basis points, down from expectations of around 70 basis points. Discount value on Monday.
The Bank of England's latest decision comes after the US Federal Reserve's decision Cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday. While the cut itself was expected, traders were surprised by the central bank's indication that it would likely cut interest rates only twice in 2025.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated soon.
