Bank of England Keeps Interest Rate at 3.75%

Apr 24, 2026, 12:30

Introduction

The Bank of England''s committee will vote on the interest rate on April 30. Many economists think the rate will stay at 3.75%. Inflation is rising because of the conflict in the Middle East.

Main Body

The committee has nine members. They will also release a report about the economy. The conflict between US-Israeli and Iranian forces started in late February. It caused higher inflation. UK inflation went up to 3.3% in March. That was a three-month high. Fuel prices increased by 8.7% in one month. That was the biggest increase since June 2022. Also, UK firms think food prices could go up by 7% next year. But the UK economy grew by 0.5% in February. That was more than expected. People bought more fuel because they were worried. Andrew Goodwin from Oxford Economics says the committee will keep the rate at 3.75%. Most members want to wait and see. A few might want to raise the rate by 0.25%. Thomas Pugh from RSM UK thinks all nine will vote to keep the rate. He says there is a lot of uncertainty about the Iran conflict. But strong data might lead to a rate increase in summer. Elliott Jordan-Doak from Pantheon Macroeconomics also thinks they will keep the rate. But if the conflict continues and oil prices stay high, they might raise the rate in June or July. He thinks one rate increase this year in June, then two cuts in 2027.

Conclusion

In short, the Bank of England will probably keep the rate at 3.75% at the next meeting. But inflation is still a problem, and the Middle East conflict is uncertain. So the rate might change later.

Vocabulary Learning

increase
to become bigger in number or amount增加；上升
Example:Fuel prices increased by 8.7% in one month.
keep
to not change something; to stay the same保持；維持不變
Example:The committee will keep the rate at 3.75%.
month
one of the twelve parts of a year月份
Example:UK inflation went up to 3.3% in March.
price
the amount of money you pay to buy something價格；價錢
Example:Food prices could go up by 7% next year.
rate
a number that shows how much something costs or is paid利率；比率
Example:The Bank of England will vote on the interest rate.

Sentence Learning

The Bank of England's committee will vote on the interest rate on April 30.
This sentence uses the simple future tense ('will vote') to talk about a planned action. The subject is 'committee'.本句使用一般將來時態（'will vote'）來表示一個計劃中的行動。主語是'委員會'。
Inflation is rising because of the conflict in the Middle East.
This sentence uses the present continuous tense ('is rising') to describe something happening now. 'Because of' shows the reason.本句使用現在進行時態（'is rising'）來描述正在發生的事情。'Because of'表示原因。
The committee has nine members.
This sentence uses the simple present tense ('has') to state a fact. The subject is 'committee'.本句使用一般現在時態（'has'）來陳述一個事實。主語是'委員會'。
Fuel prices increased by 8.7% in one month.
This sentence uses the simple past tense ('increased') to talk about a completed action in the past. 'By' shows the amount of change.本句使用一般過去時態（'increased'）來談論過去完成的動作。'By'表示變化的幅度。
The UK economy grew by 0.5% in February.
This sentence uses the simple past tense ('grew') to describe a past event. 'By' indicates the percentage of growth.本句使用一般過去時態（'grew'）來描述過去的事件。'By'表示增長的百分比。