The Bank of England left its benchmark rate unchanged at a 15-year high for the third straight time and retained its hawkish bias in contrast to the stance of its peer U.S. Federal Reserve that hinted at three rate cuts next year.
The Monetary Policy Committee, led by Governor Andrew Bailey, voted 6-3 to maintain the bank rate at 5.25 percent at the final meeting of the year.
The voting pattern was similar to the one seen in November. Megan Greene, Jonathan Haskel and Catherine Mann again sought a quarter point hike.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Economic News
What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
August 21, 2026 14:42 ET The minutes of the latest policy meeting of the Federal Reserve, housing market data and manufacturing sector survey results were the main news for the U.S. economy this week. In Europe, inflation data from the U.K. was the highlight, while consumer price data from Japan drew attention in Asia.