Facing Inflationary Pressure, Bank of England Maintains Interest Rate at 3.75%

(Central News Agency, London, June 18, Comprehensive Foreign News) The Bank of England (BoE) announced today that it will maintain its benchmark interest rate at 3.75%. Despite rising energy prices and increased inflationary pressure due to the war, the bank has chosen to remain on hold.

According to Agence France-Presse, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey stated after the decision was announced: "Oil prices have fallen recently, which is encouraging news."

Bailey pointed out: "However, oil prices are still higher than before the war. Regardless of how the situation develops, the rise in energy prices over the past four months has begun to show some inflationary pressure."

Official data released yesterday by the UK showed that the year-on-year inflation rate in May remained at 2.8%, well above the Bank of England's target of 2%.

The Bank of England issued a statement today saying: "Our duty is to ensure that the current higher inflation rate does not persist and does not have a long-term impact on the economy."

Two members of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted to raise interest rates by 100 basis points immediately, increasing the rate to 4.0%.

However, the meeting minutes showed that Bailey and six other members advocated for maintaining the interest rate unchanged.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve also maintained its interest rate yesterday but hinted at a possible rate hike later this year.

The Bank of Japan raised its interest rate to a 31-year high on the 16th of this month to combat inflation driven by the Middle East war. Last week, the European Central Bank (ECB) raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time since 2023. (Compiled by Hong Pei-ying) 1150618

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