Interest rates latest: Bank of England holds rates at 5.25%

Ece Göksedef
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

While we usually compare the UK to similar economies in Europe or the US, spare a thought for Turkey, where the central bank has raised interest rates to 50%, from 45% in February.

Before the presidential and parliamentary elections last year in May, interest rates were at 8.5%, even though inflation was levels not seen since the 1990s. That unorthodox policy was highly criticised by economists at the time.

The rates have been raised by Turkey’s central bank since then and reached 50% today, in a bid to tackle annual inflation of 67%, according to official figures in March.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who advocated for lower interest rates for many years and sacked a number of Bank governors when they increased them, is facing another challenge in 10 days: Local elections.

The cost-of-living crisis is at the heart of the election campaign, but he managed to secure another five year-term in the presidential palace last year after showering his supporters with massive pay increases and introducing an early retirement programme that cost the government billions of dollars.