BlackRock: Bank of England May Raise Rates Three or Four More Times

Alex Brazier, BlackRock’s head of global investments and portfolio solutions, said the Bank of England may deliver three or four additional rate hikes, in line with current market pricing. According to Sina Finance, after the central bank raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 4% last week, Brazier said another increase as soon as December was possible. He said resilient economic growth and an energy shock pushing inflation higher made the market’s pricing of three or four further hikes seem reasonable. That view contrasts with many investors’ expectation that the Bank of England’s eventual tightening will be less than currently reflected in interest-rate swap markets. Brazier added that central banks face a broader challenge: economies appear to need much higher interest rates than in the past to maintain basic balance, let alone address inflation.