BOE Signals Rates Will Rise Faster Than Markets Expect

The Bank of England joined other major central banks Thursday in signaling that a long era of easy money is gradually drawing to a close, saying that it anticipates raising interest rates in the U.K. at a faster pace than investors currently expect.

The BOE held its benchmark interest rate steady at 0.25% following the conclusion of its August policy meeting, as expected.

Short-term interest rates in financial markets suggest investors expect the BOE to lift its benchmark rate only twice in the next three years, to 0.5% late next year and to 0.75% in mid-2020. But officials said they expect that borrowing costs will need to rise more swiftly to keep inflation in check.

The signal from London comes as accelerating growth in the 19-nation eurozone cements expectations that the European Central Bank will begin to phase out its stimulus measures next year as the region emerges from the shadow of the past decade's financial crisis.

Write to Jason Douglas at jason.douglas@wsj.com and Paul Hannon at paul.hannon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 03, 2017 07:23 ET (11:23 GMT)