BOE Cuts Main Interest Rate To 4%, Lowest Level Since March 2023

The Bank of England has cut its main interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 4%, as policymakers seek to bolster the sluggish U.K. economy, Eleanor Butler reported for Euronews.

The Bank of England’s key rate — a benchmark for mortgages as well as consumer and business loans — is now at its lowest level since March 2023.

The decision was widely anticipated in financial markets as the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee balances its responsibility to control inflation against concerns that rising taxes and U.S. President Donald Trump’s global trade war could slow economic growth.

The committee voted 5–4 in favor of the cut.

This is the bank’s fifth rate cut since last August, when policymakers began reducing borrowing costs from a 16-year high of 5.25%, the Associated Press (AP) also reported.

The Bank of England’s key rate — a benchmark for mortgages as well as consumer and business loans — is now at its lowest level since March 2023.

“There will be hopes that if loans become cheaper, it will help boost consumer and business confidence, but there’s a long way to go,” Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said before the decision.

“In the meantime, speculation over potential tax rises in the Autumn Budget may keep households and companies cautious, given the uncertainty over where extra burdens may land.”