Bank of England poised to hike interest rates from 4% TODAY trends now
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Homeowners are facing more pain today with the Bank of England poised to push up interest rates again.
The base rate is expected to rise from 4 per cent when the decision is announced at noon, with 0.25 points considered most likely by analysts.
Markets had been split over whether Threadneedle Street would continue with the run of 10 consecutive increases, with market anxiety in the wake of the Silicon Vallley Bank and Credit Suisse meltdowns weighing heavily.
However, yesterday's shock rise in inflation, with CPI climbing from 10.1 per cent to 10.4 per cent in the year to February, has heaped pressure on the Bank.
The US Federal Reserve also went ahead with a 0.25 point rise overnight, meaning that traders will be taken by surprise if UK rates do not follow suit.
A rise would take the base rate close to pre-Credit Crunch levels, and tighten the squeeze on families already struggling to deal with the cost of living crisis.
Inflation had been expected to continue its downward trajectory in February, but the pace of prices actually picked up again.
Higher CPI was driven by salad and vegetable shortages coupled with a spike in cost at restaurants and pubs.
The Bank of England raised interest rates from 3.5 per cent to 4 per cent last month
Homeowners are facing more pain today with the Bank of England poised to push up interest rates again (pictured, governor Andrew Bailey)
Earlier this week markets were betting that there was a 50/50 chance that Bank rate would remain at 4 per cent but after the inflation figures an increase of a quarter percentage point was seen as 95 per cent certain.
At the Budget last week, Jeremy Hunt paraded forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that inflation
