Bank of England scrutinized over hiking interest rates
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The United Kingdom is undergoing paramount criticism for its improper handling of the national economy, which has sent inflation rates skyrocketing.
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The Bank of England (BoE) building in London, Britain, December 16, 2021 (Reuters)
The bank of England's monetary policy committee is set to hike interest rates for the fifth time in 6 months on Thursday, The Daily Mail reported, which will see interest rates hitting 1.25% to 1.5, and critics have accused it of damaging the economy with its pessimistic warnings.
Toscafund chief economist Dr. Savvas Savouri accused the bank of "hyperbolic and entirely unjustified talk of recession, indeed stagflation."
The sterling pound has been losing ground due to London's "ludicrous prediction of recession", which is causing inflation to soar by hiking the prices of imports, he added.
Panmure Gordon chief economist Simon French also decried the bank over its doom-laden forecast in May. "They set the economic scene with their communications, and real economic outcomes flow from their forecasts."
The bank has been bombarded with criticism as the bank's central committee, led by Governor Andrew Bailey, is pondering increasing interest rates from the current 1%.
If London was to hike interest rates, the increase would raise loaning costs for millions of households and businesses.
The Central bank is currently being pressured to take action as talk about inflation topping 10% by the end of 2022, as consumer prices have been moving upward as of late, landing on a 40-year high of 9%.
The central bank raising interest rates aggressively, i.e., too fast and too far, would have a terrible impact on the United Kingdom, derailing the far-too-fragile economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and could eventually cause the British economy to go into recession.
The world economy has been impacted by the Ukraine war, whose repercussions, mainly the sanctions on Russia, have deprived the markets of valuable Russian energy resources and caused energy prices to soar all over the world.
Many countries have been hit hard by inflation, such as the United States and Japan, alongside Britain, all of whom are countries that have staunchly imposed sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine war.
Inflation in Japan has only just hit the central bank's long-term target of 2%, and while the figure represents a seven-year high, the Bank of Japan says current inflationary pressures are temporary, claiming that the monetary policy is a key aspect in producing more long-lasting growth.
This high rate has not been seen since the 1998 Asian currency crisis, and it marks a dramatic drop from the record-high January rates of around 115 yen per USD.
Energy prices in the US have risen 34.6% over the past year, the fastest since September 2005, food prices have increased 10.1%, and the cost of fuel oil increased by more than two-fold, soaring 106.7% - the largest increase in the history of the consumer price index. A gallon of gas across the US reached $5 nationwide for the first time in history, setting a new record for oil prices.
The US government's budget deficit shrank to $66 billion in May, reaching now $426 billion as additional pandemic-related aid programs expired, according to the Treasury's monthly budget breakdown released on Friday.
