Interest rates: if central banks don't start cutting them soon, it could actually increase inflation

By Alan Shipman, Senior Lecturer in Economics, The Open University

What next for interest rates? The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is widely expected to leave them unchanged when it meets on November 2, despite the fact that UK headline inflation is still at 6.7%. If so, it will mark the second monthly freeze in a row, following 14 consecutive hikes dating back to late 2021.

The main argument for pausing when inflation is still high is that each rise takes time to have full effect. It’s possible that the brakes have already been pressed…

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