Bank Rate: the decision lands on 17 September, with inflation rising again

At noon London time on 17 September the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee announces its decision on Bank Rate. It currently stands at 3.75%, where it has been since the meeting of 30 July.

What the numbers show

Annual CPI inflation was 2.9% in July, up from 2.6% in June. That is a turn upwards, and it leaves the Bank's 2% target further away than it was a month earlier.

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Two figures the committee watches more closely than the headline. Core inflation — stripping out energy, food, alcohol and tobacco — was 2.6% in July, unchanged from June. Services inflation, which the Bank treats as the better guide to domestic price pressure, eased to 3.4% from 3.6%.

A mixed picture: headline up, the persistent part flat, services drifting down. Which is why September's decision does not look settled, and we will not guess on the committee's behalf.

What it means for you

Variable and tracker mortgages respond almost at once: the payment is recalculated on the new Bank Rate. A fixed rate does not move until the deal ends, but the new deals lenders offer adjust ahead of the meeting, on market expectations.

Savings. Banks cut deposit rates faster than they raise them. If you hold a savings account, compare its rate with what the same bank currently offers new customers: the gap between an old account and a new product can exceed a percentage point.

Sterling. The decision, and the tone of the minutes even more, move the exchange rate. If you send money to family or earn in another currency, the day of a meeting is not the moment for a large transfer.

The rest of the year

After 17 September two meetings remain in 2026: 5 November, with a Monetary Policy Report, and 17 December. The Report is published four times a year — February, April, July and November — and carries the Bank's updated forecasts for inflation and growth.

Current sterling rates and the official rates of the region's central banks are on our rates page. We do not give investment advice: the figures here are for reference.