Britain | Cutting loose
Was the Bank of England right to start lowering interest rates?
Andrew Bailey takes a calculated risk
It was a close call. On August 1st the Bank of England announced that it was cutting interest rates by 0.25 percentage points. The votes of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) were split five to four. Ahead of the announcement, markets had also been divided, pricing in roughly a 60% chance of a cut. The bank says it intends to reduce rates only gradually from here. Markets reckon it will do so once more before the end of the year (see chart).
Explore more
Britain August 3rd 2024
- What will Great British Energy do?
- A riot in Southport shows how the British far right is changing
- How deep is Britain’s fiscal “black hole”?
- Britain’s railways go from one extreme to another
- The disease that most afflicts England’s National Health Service
- The race to become leader of Britain’s Conservatives
- Was the Bank of England right to start lowering interest rates?
- British voters care less about tax rises than politicians think
From the August 3rd 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Britain
Has the Royal Navy become too timid?
A new paper examines how its culture has changed
A plan to reorganise local government in England runs into opposition
Turkeys vote against Christmas
David Lammy’s plan to shake up Britain’s Foreign Office
Diplomats will be tasked with growing the economy and cutting migration
Britain’s government has spooked markets and riled businesses
Tax rises were inevitable. Such a shaky start was not
Labour’s credibility trap
Who can believe Rachel Reeves?