Bank of England is set to keep rates on hold and avoid signaling when cuts could happen

By PAN PYLAS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England is expected to keep its main interest rate at near 16-year highs and indicate that lower borrowing costs aren’t imminent because inflation is stuck too high for comfort. Like the U.S. Federal Reserve, the U.K. central bank on Thursday is not expected to steer financial markets into thinking that a rate cut is likely in the coming months. Cautious policymakers are awaiting further evidence that inflation is rapidly heading down toward their target of 2%. In December, inflation across the U.K. unexpectedly rose to 4%, an increase that tempered market expectations that the central bank would cut borrowing costs as soon as May.