Bank of England set to raise interest rates to 0.75%

Anthony
Devlin/Getty Images; Samantha Lee/Business Insider

• The Bank of England is set to hike interest rates for
  just the second time since the financial crisis on
  Thursday.
• Britain’s central bank is expected to raise rates from
  0.5% to 0.75%, taking the UK’s base rate of interest to its
  highest level since March 2009.
• Markets are pricing in a more than 90% chance of a
  hike.
• The bank’s decision will be announced at 12.00 p.m. BST
  (7.00 a.m. ET), with a press conference from Governor Mark
  Carney 30 minutes later.

The Bank of England is set to raise interest
rates for
just the second time since the financial crisis.

If financial market expectations are met, Britain’s central bank
should raise rates from 0.5% to 0.75%, taking the UK’s base rate
of interest to its highest level since March 2009. Markets are
pricing a more than 90% chance of a hike, according to the latest
data.

The rate hike is set to be one of the most divisive decisions in
recent bank history, with opinions split on whether increasing
borrowing costs will be a good idea going forward.

Governor Mark Carney and the other eight members of the bank’s
rate setting Monetary Policy Committee have been signalling that
a hike is likely to come at some point in 2018, and Thursday
looks like the day it will happen.

The decision is as close to a certainty as exists in the world of
central banking, but the announcement is still full of intrigue,
with the bank likely to signal whether its future guidance for
interest rates has shifted, and with Governor Carney set to face
questions from reporters.

The Bank of England’s announcement will be made at 12.00 p.m. BST
(7.00 a.m. ET), while a press conference from Carney and two of
his deputies will follow 30 minutes later.

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