London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Mar 12, 2026

Bank will 'not hesitate' to raise interest rates after pound's fall

Bank will 'not hesitate' to raise interest rates after pound's fall

The Bank of England has said it will "not hesitate" to hike interest rates to curb inflation after the pound fell to a record low against the US dollar.

The Bank said it was "monitoring developments closely" and would make a decision on any action in November.

Its statement came after the Treasury said it would publish a plan to tackle debt in a bid to reassure investors.

The pound fell again after the two statements and some UK lenders said they were halting new mortgage deals.

Halifax, the UK's largest mortgage lender, said it would temporarily withdraw all mortgage products that come with a fee due to the market volatility.

Virgin Money and Skipton Building Society have also stopped offering mortgage products to new customers.

Experts said a rise in the cost of long-term borrowing due to the market turmoil meant the cost to lenders of offering new mortgage deals was too expensive.

Sterling fell to an all-time low earlier against the US dollar after Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng pledged further tax cuts at the weekend on top of Friday's mini-budget where he announced the biggest tax cuts in 50 years.

The pound had been sliding as global markets reacted to the sharp increase in government borrowing required to fund the cuts.

A weak pound makes it more expensive to buy imported goods and risks pushing up the rising cost of living even further. Imports of commodities priced in dollars, including oil and gas, are also more expensive.

UK inflation, the rate at which prices rise, is already rising at its fastest rate for 40 years.

Some economists had predicted the Bank of England would call an emergency meeting in the coming days to raise interest rates in a bid to stem the fall, as well as calming rising prices.

But the Bank of England instead said it was "monitoring developments in financial markets very closely" and would make a full assessment at its next meeting on 3 November.

Investors are now predicting that interest rates could more than double by next spring to 5.8% from their current 2.25%, to curb high inflation, which is expected to be fuelled by the huge tax cuts announced in Friday's mini-budget.


'Not affordable'


Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said if interest rates rise as predicted, the average household refinancing a two-year fixed rate mortgage in the first half of next year would see monthly payments jump to £1,490 from £863.

"Many simply won't be able to afford this," he said.

The market volatility following Mr Kwarteng's mini-budget has also been linked in part to the government's decision not to publish a forecast of expected UK growth and government borrowing from independent forecaster the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Martin Weale, Professor of Economics at King's College London and former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, which votes on interest rates, told BBC Radio 4's PM programme that people "are concerned that the government has no plan for bringing the national debt under control."

"Sterling has fallen because market traders have been frightened by the government's policies, and I think they got further frightened by the sense over the weekend that this was only the first instalment of some tax cuts."

But Lord David Frost, Conservative peer and former chief Brexit negotiator, said the reaction on global markets was "an overreaction".

"I don't think anything has gone wrong, actually, Liz Truss promised change, a different economic approach to get us back to growth and away from stagnation."

He said as part of this change in approach, interest rates would rise and the government would need to provide additional support via tax cuts and whilst it would need to reduce spending medium term, the details of that would come in November.

The government said its financial plan set for 23 November would include full growth and borrowing forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility.

It also pledged to set out further details on the government's spending rules, including how it will try to decrease debt.

Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said given the pound had fallen back since the statements from the Bank and the Treasury the markets "may well need more reassurance and some actual action", saying a change in policy from government or an interest rate hike from the Bank at an emergency meeting before 3 November may be necessary.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Release of Mandelson Files Raises Tensions as UK Seeks Stable Relations With Donald Trump
UK Documents Reveal Starmer Was Warned About Mandelson’s Epstein Links Before Ambassador Appointment
Nearly Five Hundred UK Mortgage Deals Withdrawn in Two Days as Market Volatility Forces Lenders to Reprice
Three Cargo Ships Hit Near Iran as Attacks Spread to Strategic Strait of Hormuz
Why British Police Repeatedly Declined to Investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s UK Links
UK Parliament Ends Hereditary Seats in House of Lords, Closing Chapter on Centuries of Aristocratic Lawmaking
EU and UK Urge Israel to Act Against Rising West Bank Settler Violence Amid Regional Tensions
US Senator John Kennedy Says Keir Starmer Should Not Be Trusted for Military Advice Amid Iran War Debate
UK High Court Rejects Attempt to Revive Terrorism Charge Against Kneecap Rapper
Revolut Secures Full UK Banking Licence After Multi-Year Regulatory Wait
Kentucky’s Bench Boost Powers Wildcats Past LSU in SEC Tournament Opener
British Couple Die After Being Pulled From Water at Australian Beach During Family Visit
Global Energy Agency Announces Record Release of 400 Million Barrels to Stabilize Oil Markets Amid Hormuz Disruption
British Airways Suspends UK Repatriation Flights as Middle East Travel Disruption Deepens
US Forces Prepare Ordnance at RAF Fairford as Strategic Bombers Deploy for Middle East Operations
Nigel Farage Faces Criticism After Saying Britain Should Stay Out of Iran War
Landmark UK Trial Begins Over Sony’s PlayStation Store Pricing
UK High Court Rejects Bid to Challenge Britain’s Chagos Islands Agreement With Mauritius
Finnish Duo Triumphs in England’s Annual Wife-Carrying Race, Winning a Barrel of Ale
How U.S. and UK National Security Strategies Are Reshaping the Global Business Landscape
Green Party Gains Momentum as Labour Shifts Toward the Political Centre
Royal Navy Destroyer HMS Dragon Sets Sail for Eastern Mediterranean as Regional Tensions Rise
UK Homebuilder Persimmon Warns Iran Conflict Could Dent Property Buyer Confidence
Roman Abramovich Signals Legal Fight if UK Seeks to Seize Chelsea Sale Funds
UK Ready to Back Emergency Oil Reserve Release as Middle East Conflict Pushes Prices Higher
Study of 40,000 Articles Sparks Debate Over Alleged Anti-Muslim Bias in UK Media
US and UK Army Chiefs Strengthen Cooperation on the Future of Armored Warfare
Britain’s Search for the Next ARM Intensifies as Startups and Investors Target the Semiconductor Frontier
Three US Strategic Bombers Arrive at RAF Fairford as Iran Conflict Intensifies
Cancer Death Rates in the UK Fall to the Lowest Level on Record
UK Government Bond Yields Retreat Slightly After Sharp Spike Triggered by Middle East Conflict
UK Chancellor Warns Middle East War Could Push Inflation Higher
UK Prime Minister Warns Iran Conflict Could Drive Up Prices and Threaten Economic Stability
Trump Declines UK Offer to Deploy Aircraft Carriers to Middle East Amid Iran Conflict
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Return to Australia After Seven Years for Philanthropic and Business Engagements
UK Government Signals Independence From Washington as Cooper Says Britain Does Not Agree With Trump on Every Issue
UK Experts Warn AI Chatbots Are Fueling Surge in Claims of Organised ‘Satanic’ Ritual Abuse
UK Political Parties Divided Over Strategy as Iran Conflict Reshapes Foreign Policy Debate
Britain Discloses Secret Military Repair Hubs Operating Inside Ukraine
Trump Says US No Longer Needs UK Carrier Support After Delayed Offer Amid Iran Conflict
Why Britain Has Become Involved in the US-Israel Military Campaign Against Iran
UK Gas Storage Falls to Under Two Days as Iran Conflict Jolts Global Energy Markets
UK Warned to Brace for Economic Shock as Iran War Drives Global Energy Price Surge
Starmer and Trump Hold First Call After Public Dispute Over Iran Conflict
UK Dentists Returned £1.3 Billion to Government as Shift Toward Private Care Accelerates
Expert Warns UK Must Build Emergency Food Stockpiles to Prepare for Climate Shocks or War
UK Plans Charter Flight to Evacuate British Nationals from Gulf as Regional Conflict Disrupts Air Travel
Families of Zimbabwe’s Liberation Fighters Call on Britain to Help Locate Skulls Taken During Colonial War
Iran’s Ambassador Warns Britain to ‘Be Very Careful’ Over Deeper Role in Expanding Middle East War
UK Military Leadership Defends Britain’s Defensive Role in Expanding Middle East Conflict
×