Bank of England makes fifth consecutive interest rates hike

Bank rate jumps to 1.25%

The Bank of England has made its fifth consecutive rates rise, hiking interest rates from 1% to 1.25%.

The central bank's Monetary Policy Committee voted six to three to raise rates by 25 basis points, with the rest voting for a 50 basis points rise. This move was widely expected, with most analysts believing another hike was necessary to combat soaring inflation, after hitting 9% in April. With rates now at their highest since January 2009, the MPC said that it expected inflation to remain over 9% "during the next few months", rising to above 11% in October. Little has changed since the committee's previous economic forecasts in May, according to the MPC report, although UK GDP has...