Key insights
- A Bank of England survey in April revealed that financial firms did not anticipate rate hikes in 2024, contrasting with market expectations of at least two increases. This divergence, while UK-centric, introduces uncertainty into global rate expectations, potentially influencing US market sentiment if global monetary policy outlooks become more dovish than anticipated.
LONDON, May 1 (Reuters) - Financial firms surveyed by the Bank of England last month did not expect the central bank to raise interest rates this year, though they no longer expected rates to be cut, according to a poll released by the BoE on Friday.
The BoE’s quarterly Market Participants Survey, conducted from April 15-17, showed a median expectation for Bank Rate at the end of 2026 to be 3.75%, versus an expectation three months earlier for it to be cut to 3.25%.
By contrast, interest rate futures are currently priced to show at least two quarter-point rate increases this year.
The poll also showed expectations for BoE quantitative tightening were unchanged at 50 billion pounds ($68.01 billion)for the next 12-month period running from October 2026 to September 2027.
($1 = 0.7352 pounds)