Bank of England hikes rates to 15-year peak

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - The Bank of England hiked interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to 4.5% on Thursday, raising borrowing costs to peak levels since 2008.

The UK's yearly inflation rate reached 10.1% in March, five times the central bank's 2% target.

The bank said the economy has been subject to "a sequence of very large and overlapping shocks."

The UK's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to remain stagnant during the first half of the year.

However, moderate growth is forecast in underlying output, which excludes the estimated effects of strikes and an additional bank holiday.

Despite a weaker February, economic activity has been less feeble than originally anticipated, said the bank.

It now predicts that the demand trajectory will likely be substantially more robust than previously predicted in the February Report, though still subdued when compared to historical norms.

Inflation is projected to fall sharply starting from April, in part as large rises in the price level one year ago drop out of the annual comparison.

"However, food price inflation is likely to fall back more slowly than previously expected," it said.

Food inflation in the UK hit a 45-year high of 19.1% in March.