MPC

The chance of a rate rise this year has moved a step closer after one of the Bank of England's policymakers said a rise in the cost of borrowing should happen "sooner rather than later".

Sterling has spiked further against the dollar and other currencies after strong retail sales and minutes of the latest Monetary Policy Committee meeting stirred up the rate hike debate.

When will UK interest rates peak?

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has tried to defuse expectations of an imminent rate hike by saying it would "not be the right tool" to deal with a booming housing market.

Given the nature of the financial crisis and the depth of the accompanying recession, the recovery process was always going to be a hard grind.

SPECIAL REPORT

The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has warned the 2% target for inflation became a "dangerous distraction" for the UK's policymakers.

SENATE CONFERENCE

A leading Bank of England policymaker has said the base rate is likely to rise in "spring 2015" in unusually revealing comments made this afternoon.

The Bank of England has today said it will not hike rates "for some time to come" - with the base rate potentially at 2% by 2017 - as governor Mark Carney begins to alter his forward guidance policy.