The Bank of England on Thursday looks set to delay an interest rate cut that seemed a sure bet before the war in the Middle East, and it will probably sound vague about its next steps while it waits ​to see the extent of the inflationary shock. The BoE has cut borrowing costs more slowly than the European Central Bank since 2024 because of its worries about Britain’s stubbornly stronger price pressures. Just when it looked like British inflation was going to drop to the BoE’s target of 2% and stay there, the jump in oil and gas prices threatens to push it back up to 3% or higher. That is still a far ​cry from the ... (full story)