Bank of England raises UK interest rates to highest level since 2008

By PAN PYLAS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England has raised interest rates to their highest level since late 2008 as it continues to combat stubbornly high inflation in the U.K. The decision on Thursday by the bank’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee to lift its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5% was widely anticipated in financial markets. The increase was its 12th in a row. Like other central banks around the world, the Bank of England has sought to keep a lid on inflation, which over the past year has been fueled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That sent energy prices soaring, a development that then led to price increases across a wide array of goods and services.