By Munachimso Obienyi
The Bank of England has raised the base rate of interest by 0.75 percentage points to 3 per cent – the single biggest increase in more than three decades – and said that the UK is already in recession.
The Bank further warned that the UK could face a protracted contraction in the coming years, with high inflation and the unemployment rate climbing to 6.5 per cent – the highest since the financial crisis.
The length of its forecasted recession – eight successive quarters in which gross domestic product shrinks – would make it the most protracted since comparable records began – albeit less deep than most previous downturns, including those in 2008/2009 and the 1980s.
The economy would still be well below its 2022 size at the end of 2025.