Global central banks diverge as UK holds, US, Japan, euro area raise rates - businessday.ng

Global central banks are taking increasingly divergent monetary-policy paths, with the UK holding interest rates for a sixth consecutive meeting this week, while the United States and Japan raised rates and the European Central Bank tightened policy earlier this month as inflation and energy-price pressures persist. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 6–3 to keep Bank Rate at 3.75 percent at its September meeting on Thursday. Three members backed a 25-basis-point increase to four percent, maintaining the same split as at the July meeting. The BoE said the prolonged conflict in the Middle East had pushed crude and refined energy prices higher and increased market volatility, contributing to UK consumer price inflation rising to 3.