--- title: "The Middle East conflict shatters interest rate cut expectations: The Bank of England's MPC unanimously decides to hold steady, stating \"ready to act at any time\"" type: "News" locale: "zh-HK" url: "https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/279798248.md" description: "The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee unanimously decided to keep the interest rate unchanged at 3.75% and stated that it is \"ready to take action at any time\" to address inflation risks that may arise from the Middle East conflict. This is the first unanimous decision in four and a half years, and traders have increased their bets on interest rate hikes before the end of the year. The minutes of the meeting indicate that the current conflict is disrupting production in key global oil-producing regions, which could lead to energy supply shocks. The market expects a higher likelihood of interest rate hikes than cuts" datetime: "2026-03-19T13:25:03.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/279798248.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/279798248.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/279798248.md) --- > 支持的語言: [简体中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/279798248.md) | [English](https://longbridge.com/en/news/279798248.md) # The Middle East conflict shatters interest rate cut expectations: The Bank of England's MPC unanimously decides to hold steady, stating "ready to act at any time" According to Zhitong Finance APP, all nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England unanimously voted on Thursday to keep interest rates unchanged and stated that they are "ready to take action" to address any inflation surge that may arise from the Middle East conflict, prompting traders to increase their bets on interest rate hikes this year. The Monetary Policy Committee voted to maintain the interest rate at 3.75%—the first unanimous decision in four and a half years. The meeting minutes indicated a significant shift in policy tone, as the current conflict disrupts production in the world's most important oil-producing region and hinders tankers from passing through the critical Strait of Hormuz. Rate setters have opened the door for possible rate hikes, with Governor Andrew Bailey warning that policy must "address the risk of more persistent impacts on UK CPI inflation." He added in another statement: "Whatever happens, our job is to ensure inflation returns to the 2% target level." Traders have now fully priced in two 25 basis point rate hikes before the end of the year. UK government bonds continued their previous decline, with the two-year yield rising by as much as 20 basis points to 4.30%, and the pound rose 0.4% against the dollar to 1.3310. The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee removed the wording from the February decision that hinted to investors that the benchmark rate "could be further lowered." One of the Bank of England's most dovish officials, Swati Dhingra, also emphasized the severity of the challenges, stating that rate hikes may be necessary if there are sustained energy supply shocks. Several rate setters indicated that they would have supported rate cuts if there had been no outbreak of conflict. Since the first attack on Iran at the end of February, traders have reversed their bets on further easing by the Bank of England, with the market now believing that the likelihood of rate hikes is higher than that of cuts. Overnight European gas prices surged after Iranian missile strikes damaged the world's largest liquefied natural gas export facility, with benchmark futures prices soaring by as much as 35% in early trading on Thursday. The Federal Reserve also kept rates unchanged on Wednesday night, with outgoing Chairman Jerome Powell stating that it is too early to assess the impact of the war on the US economy. The European Central Bank is also expected to maintain its policy unchanged later today. Bailey pointed out that there are signs that the turmoil has been transmitted to UK consumers through rising gasoline costs and warned of the risk of higher household energy bills later this year. The Bank of England has significantly raised its short-term inflation forecasts, expecting the price increase in March to accelerate to 3.5%, about half a percentage point higher than pre-war expectations. The committee emphasized that monetary policy cannot influence the surge in global energy prices, and the governor also stressed that the best solution depends on restoring safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz. However, as the crisis evokes painful memories of the energy price shocks following the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, the Monetary Policy Committee remains vigilant about the "second-round effects" of persistently high inflation. Despite inflation reaching double digits at that time and sparking criticism of the Bank of England's slow response, officials now face a markedly different economic backdrop. Although data released just hours before the Bank of England's decision showed that the labor market performed better than expected, it has weakened in recent quarters ### 相關股票 - [Occidental Petroleum (OXY.US)](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/quote/OXY.US.md) - [BP p.l.c. 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