The Bank of England kept its main interest rate unchanged at 5.75 per cent on Thursday but took the unusual step of issuing a statement, prompting speculation that interest rates may finally have peaked.

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Chris Giles, economics editor, on the implications of the Bank’s unprecedented statement

Noting the “disruption” in financial markets, the Bank said: “It is too soon to tell how far the disruption in financial markets will impair the availability of credit to companies and households.”