Bank of England Raises Bank Rate by 0.25 Points to 4% on an 8-1 Vote

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, at a meeting that ended on 4 November 2026 (13 Aban 1405) and whose result was published on Thursday 5 November (14 Aban), voted 8 to 1 to raise Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, from 3.75% to 4%. One member voted for a 0.5-point rise to 4.25%. At its September 2026 meeting (25 Shahrivar) the same committee had held the rate at 3.75% on a 6 to 3 vote.

The bank says the conflict in West Asia is now in its ninth month and that global energy prices have risen further from an already elevated level. UK consumer price inflation was 3.5% in September and is expected to climb to around 5% by the middle of next year before falling back. The bank writes that evidence of knock-on effects from energy onto other prices and wages is still limited, but that the inflationary pressure in the pipeline is now enough to warrant a rise, and that activity data in recent months have been stronger than expected.

The committee puts front-month Brent at an average of $108 a barrel and UK front-month gas at 216 pence a therm over the 15 working days to 27 October, 38% and 81% above the time of the July report. It stresses that monetary policy is not on a pre-set path and that it will reassess the data at each meeting.