Bank of England surprises markets by raising rates to 0.25%

The central bank said the economic conditions it had been waiting for to raise rates had been met, explaining that "the labour market is tight and has continued to tighten, and there are some signs of greater persistence in domestic cost and price pressures". Most economists had been expecting rates to remain at its record low due to the emergence of the Omicron variant last month, which could potentially see the UK enter another lockdown. However, the MPC minutes said that, while the Omicron variant "is likely to weigh on near-term activity, its impact on medium-term inflationary pre...