POLL-Bank of England to raise rates again in February as inflation surges

Almost 65% of respondents in the Jan. 17-20 poll expected a 25-basis-point rate increase from 0.25% when the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee meets on Feb. 3 while the proportion expecting a rise to 0.50% by the end of March was more than 75%.(BoE in London - File pic)

LONDON: The Bank of England will press ahead with its tightening cycle next month as red-hot inflation runs well ahead of target and the economic threat from the Omicron coronavirus variant should prove milder than previous mutations, a Reuters poll found.

Britain's central bank became last month the first major rate-setter https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/inflation-risk-omicron-slowdown-boe-rate-move-balance-2021-12-16 to increase interest rates since the coronavirus pandemic began, surprising markets and many economists who had expected a delay.