Interest rates held but Bank signals rise if energy prices stay high
Rates are held for the sixth time in a row but the Bank says they are likely to rise if high energy prices continue.
The Bank of England has held interest rates for the sixth time in a row but said they are likely to rise if high energy prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East continue.
The US-Israel war with Iran has disrupted global energy supplies which has led to a sharp increase in petrol and diesel prices.
The Bank now forecasts that inflation will rise more than it previously thought and warned that the price cap on household gas and electricity bills for January is "now expected to rise substantially further".
It also said that because the effect of higher energy costs had not yet spilled over into other areas of the economy, food price rises were now expected to be lower than it had predicted in July.