BoE may keep interest rate at 16-yr high of 5.25% despite inflation fall

Any hopes the governing Conservative Party may have of the Bank of England cutting its main interest rate from a 16-year high of 5.25 per cent Thursday are expected to be dashed even though inflation in the UK has fallen to its target rate for the first time in nearly three years.

Official figures on Wednesday showed that inflation, as measured by the consumer prices index, fell to 2 per cent in the year to May from 2.3 per cent the month before, with food prices providing the biggest downward contribution. That's the first time since July 2021 that inflation has been at the bank's target.

Despite the welcome decline, some policymakers on the bank's Monetary Policy Committee appear to be still concerned over the scale of price increases in the crucial services sector and the pace of wage increases, which raise the risks of an inflation rebound if interest rates are cut too soon.

That is why an interest rate cut tomorrow is still very unlikely, said Luke Bartholomew, deputy chief ..