Bank of England raises UK interest rates to 4.5%

Latest 0.25 point hike marks 12th rise in a row as Bank battles stubbornly high inflation

The Bank of England has raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5% amid growing concerns about persistently high inflation in the UK.

The Bank’s monetary policy committee voted by a majority for a 12th successive increase in borrowing costs, continuing its most aggressive rate-hiking cycle since the 1980s in an attempt to dampen UK inflation which remains in double digits.