SwedenLivingWorld world_2_fill WorldBusiness BusinessSports sports-soccer SportsEntertainmentEntertain

United Kingdom lowers interest rate

The United Kingdom's central bank, the Bank of England, is lowering the interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 5.00 percent. "The inflation pressure has eased sufficiently for us to be able to lower the interest rate today," says the bank's chairman Andrew Bailey in a statement.

» Updated: 01 August 2024, 14:30

» Published: 01 August 2024

United Kingdom lowers interest rate
Photo: Kin Cheung/AP/TT

The decrease was expected and in line with market expectations, according to Bloomberg.

Five of the bank's members voted to lower, while four wanted to leave it unchanged.

Andrew Bailey signals that the way forward is uncertain and that caution is required.

"We must ensure that inflation remains low and be careful not to lower interest rates too quickly or too much. Ensuring low and stable inflation is the best we can do to support economic growth and the country's prosperity," he says.

This is the first interest rate cut in the UK since the beginning of the pandemic and inflation took off. The previous interest rate of 5.25 – which has been unchanged for a year after a series of hikes – has been the highest in 16 years.

The Bank of England, like the Swedish Riksbank and the American Federal Reserve (Fed), has an inflation target of 2.0 percent – and that is also where British inflation has been for two months.

Bailey describes the inflation rate as "welcome news" but warns that inflation is expected to increase again during the second half of the year when the effect of lower energy costs wears off.

The pound weakened by 0.8 percent against the dollar ahead of the Bank of England's announcement. The currency recovered marginally after the cut and was worth 1.28 dollars on Thursday afternoon. British government bonds rose.

Tags
TTT
By TTThis article has been altered and translated by Sweden Herald

More news

No Nvidia boost on Wall Street
1 MIN READ

No Nvidia boost on Wall Street

Temu's owner shows its hand
1 MIN READ

Temu's owner shows its hand

Nvidia rises in pre-trading on Wall Street
1 MIN READ

Nvidia rises in pre-trading on Wall Street

Court of Appeal Upholds Verdict: Northvolt Manager Acquitted
1 MIN READ

Court of Appeal Upholds Verdict: Northvolt Manager Acquitted

Northvolt: Negotiations are still ongoing
3 MIN READ

Northvolt: Negotiations are still ongoing

Higher Compensation for Job Interviews in Another Location
1 MIN READ

Higher Compensation for Job Interviews in Another Location

Vehicle Giant Warns of Challenges in 2025
1 MIN READ

Vehicle Giant Warns of Challenges in 2025

Unchanged interest rate in Turkey
1 MIN READ

Unchanged interest rate in Turkey

Trump anxiety in the EU over US tariffs
3 MIN READ

Trump anxiety in the EU over US tariffs

Weak demand for scrapping premium
1 MIN READ

Weak demand for scrapping premium

E-fuel company takes in half a billion
1 MIN READ

E-fuel company takes in half a billion

New Report Boost for AI Giant Nvidia's Share
2 MIN READ

New Report Boost for AI Giant Nvidia's Share

Still sour on the Stockholm Stock Exchange
2 MIN READ

Still sour on the Stockholm Stock Exchange

Bitcoin closer to the dream limit
1 MIN READ

Bitcoin closer to the dream limit

Higher fee to stop burning of plastic
2 MIN READ

Higher fee to stop burning of plastic

USA wants to force Google to sell Chrome
2 MIN READ

USA wants to force Google to sell Chrome

New method reveals pension fraud
3 MIN READ

New method reveals pension fraud

Most Minus Signs on Asian Stock Exchanges
1 MIN READ

Most Minus Signs on Asian Stock Exchanges

One of the world's richest bribed in the USA
2 MIN READ

One of the world's richest bribed in the USA

This is how Musk will save billions
2 MIN READ

This is how Musk will save billions