The Bank of England raised its Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4% on Thursday 5 November 2026. Eight of nine Monetary Policy Committee members voted for the increase from 3.75%.
Monetary Policy Committee member Catherine Mann voted for a larger rise of 0.5 points, to 4.25%. The committee’s summary says the conflict in the Middle East is in its ninth month and global energy prices have risen further from an already high level.
UK consumer price inflation was 3.5% in September, according to the Bank. It expects the rate to reach about 4.5% in the first quarter of 2027 and about 5% in the second quarter, then fall as the energy price effect fades.
The minutes put the front-month Brent crude futures price at an average of US$108 a barrel over the 15 UK working days to 27 October, 38% higher than at the time of the committee’s July report. Front-month UK gas futures averaged 216 pence a therm, 81% higher than at the July report.
What the committee said
Evidence that higher energy costs are spreading to other prices and wages is limited so far, the committee said. It judged that the inflation pressure in the pipeline is now large enough to justify a rise, and that activity data have been stronger than expected.
Source: Bank of England, Monetary Policy Summary and Minutes, 5 November 2026 (2027 figures are approximate projections). Chart: Rand Desk
It also said its path is open. The summary says monetary policy “is not on a pre-set path”, and that the committee will adjust the rate as needed to return inflation to its 2% target in the medium term. MPC member Alan Taylor, one of the eight who backed the rise, wrote that “as of now, this is not the start of a hiking cycle”.
Benchmark two-year mortgage rates in the UK have risen by nearly 50 basis points since the start of September, the minutes say. In the Bank’s Market Participants Survey, the median expected path for Bank Rate reached 4% in November and 4.25% in February.
The Budget of 28 October is expected to lower UK inflation by about 0.25 percentage points by the second quarter of 2027, according to the minutes.
Where South Africa comes in
The decision covers the United Kingdom only. South Africa’s repo rate is 7.25% and prime is 10.75%, unchanged since 25 September 2026, and the Reserve Bank’s committee announces its next decision on 19 November. Our explainer on how the repo rate works sets out how it decides.
Two other central banks held their rates in the past fortnight. The European Central Bank held its deposit rate at 2.5% on 29 October, as we reported in our ECB story, and the US Federal Reserve held at 3.75% to 4% on 28 October, as we reported in our Federal Reserve story.
The Bank of England’s next decision is on 17 December 2026.
