The Bank of England delayed its next interest-rate decision a week to Sept. 22 to allow a period of mourning after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The move gives the Monetary Policy Committee more time to consider key inflation and jobs data due to be published next week. It also brings the rate decision closer to the date when Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng aims to deliver his fiscal statement outlining the cost of measures to curb energy bills.
Investors are divided about whether the BOE will raise its benchmark lending rate a half-point at the next meeting or three-quarters of a point from the current 1.75%. With inflation at a 40-year high of 10.1%, pressure is building on policy makers to act forcefully.
Prime Minister Liz Truss’s government on Thursday announced a package of measures to rein in household energy bills. Economists say those measures could slash inflation in the coming months but boost it in the medium term.
