Bank of England’s decision to keep interest rates at 4% is not all doom and gloom

<p>Close-run vote raises hopes of rates cut in December, with inflation said to have peaked at 3.8%</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/nov/06/bank-of-england-holds-interest-rates-rachel-reeves-budget">Bank of England holds interest rates as it warns joblessness on rise</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2025/nov/06/bank-of-england-interest-rates-andrew-bailey-stock-markets-pound-budget-business-live-news">Business live – latest updates</a></p></li></ul><p>There were reasons to be cheerful contained within the Bank of England’s latest verdict on the outlook for the UK economy, released alongside its decision to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/nov/06/bank-of-england-holds-interest-rates-rachel-reeves-budget">leave interest rates unchanged at 4%</a>.</p><p>Inflation, it said, had <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/oct/22/uk-inflation-unchanged-rachel-reeves-budget">peaked at 3.8%</a> and was expected to fall steadily back to the Bank’s 2% target sometime in 2027. That is an improvement on its thinking in August (the last time it published forecasts), when inflation was expected to peak at 4%.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/nov/06/bank-of-englands-decision-to-keep-interest-rates-at-4-is-not-all-doom-and-gloom">Continue reading...</a>