Rates rise as Bank of England seeks to tell markets it cares about inflation spike it can’t do much about

The causes of surging prices in Britain aren’t things the Monetary Policy Committee can easily influence. But it has sent a message to the markets while facing criticism for acting through Omicron catalysis and economic chill, writes James Moore

The Bank has raised rates for the first time in more than three years to battle surging inflation (PA)

Last time around the surprise was that the Bank of England didn’t act. This time there were quite a few raised eyebrows when it became the first of the big central banks to impose a Covid rate hike.

The Omicron variant is starting to freeze the economy again, with significant numbers of Britons putting themselves into lockdown even as the government resists doing the same out of a greater fear of its own fractious backbenchers.

This made the decision to increase rates – to 0.25 per cent from 0.1 per cent – look a lot more finely balanced than it did prior to the new variant’s sudden emergence and shockingly rapid spread.