The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates today, following February’s unexpected rise in inflation.
The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, which decides the rates, will meet later today. Analysts believe it will raise the base rate from 4% to 4.25%.
Until earlier this week markets had placed the odds of rates rising at about even, until figures showed that last month consumer price inflation increased from 10.1% to 10.4%.
Economists had expected Consumer Prices Index inflation to drop to 9.9%.
It had also been thought that the MPC would be unlikely to raise rates above 4%, choosing instead to soothe a jittery market following the collapse of three US banks and the forced sale of Credit Suisse in the past week and a half.
Last night the US Federal Reserve raised its interest rate from 4.75% to 5%, its ninth consecutive rate rise.
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