Industry experts now widely expect the Bank of England’s tightening cycle to be nearing its end, following the bank’s decision to hike interest rates by 50 basis points to 4% today (2 February).
Hussain Mehdi, macro and investment strategist for HSBC Global Asset Management, said that despite a "still soggy growth outlook," the central bank followed through with the hike due to concerns over persistent inflation and a tight labour market. Medhi added that with "policy in restrictive territory and activity indicators deteriorating," he believed that interest rates were now near their peak. Brian Nick, chief investment strategist at Nuveen, agreed, saying the bank had done "what was expected of it". He now expected the bank to be "winding down its rate hikes over the next me...
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