The Bank of England on Thursday hiked its interest rate for the eleventh time in a row as policy-makers seek to tackle soaring inflation despite turmoil in the banking sector.
The British central bank's Monetary Policy Committee voted at a regular meeting to lift its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.25%, the highest level since late 2008.
The announcement followed hikes in the United States, Norway and Switzerland.
Policy-makers "will continue to monitor indications of persistent inflationary pressures, including the tightness of labor market conditions and the behavior of wage growth closely, along with services inflation," the BoE said in a statement.
"If there were to be evidence of more persistent pressures, then further tightening in monetary policy would be required," the statement noted.
The decision had been widely expected. Official aftershock data showed that British annual inflation accelerated in February despite central bank efforts to tame a growing cost-of-living crisis.
The Consumer Prices Index rose 10.4% from 12 months to February, up from 10.1% in January.
The news strengthened the case for another interest rate hike, despite calls for no change amid recent turmoil in the commercial banking sector.
