The Bank of England postponed its interest rates decision on Friday, follow Queen Elizabeth’s passing on Thursday.
The Bank cited the period of national mourning as the reason for its delay, and rescheduled its meeting for 22 September, moving from its original date of 15 September.
“In light of the period of national mourning now being observed in the United Kingdom, the September 2022 meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee has been postponed for a period of one week,” said the Bank of England in a statement.
“The Committee’s decision will be announced at 12pm on 22 September.”
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey also issued a statement in light of the Queen’s passing.
“It was with profound sadness that I learned of the death of Her Majesty the Queen. On behalf of everyone at the Bank I would like to pass on my deepest condolences to the Royal Family,” said Bailey.
Experts are expecting a rate hike to 2.25%, marking the highest interest rates level since December 2008. The Bank raised rates to 1.75% in its August policy meeting in a bid to tackle soaring inflation, which currently stands at 10.1% and is expected to reach 13% in October.
The European Central Bank increased its interest rates a shocking 0.75% in its decision earlier this week, highlighting surging energy and food prices linked to the Ukraine war as the reason behind its sharp move upwards.
The US Federal Reserve warned of aggressive rates decisions to come, with US Fed chair Jerome Powell discussing the Fed’s rationale behind its hawkish stance at the Jackson Hole convention in late August.