Bank of England hikes interest rate to 14-year high

It emerged on Thursday that the Bank of England (BoE) had hiked its interest rate by half a point to 3.5 percent, the highest level in 14 years, in a bid to cool sky-high inflation. Today’s increase was the BoE’s ninth in a row. “The labor market remains tight and there has been evidence of inflationary pressures in domestic prices and wages that could indicate greater persistence and thus justifies a further forceful monetary policy response,” the BoE said in a statement following its latest rate increase.