Bank of England holds interest rates steady at 4.75% amid heightened inflation

As expected by markets

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has decided to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.75% in its final meeting of the year.

Six MPC members, including BoE governor Andrew Bailey, voted in favour of maintaining the current interest rate, while three members voted to trim it down by 25 basis points to 4.5%. The decision followed a 2.6% rise in the annual inflation rate in November, up from 1.7% two months earlier in September. The data for November was slightly below FactSet's consensus, which expected that figure to stand at 2.7% last month. Rise in UK inflation 'unwelcome' ahead of BoE interest rate meeting According to BoE, the inflation came in slightly higher than previously expected, "owing in la...