Source:
- Office for National Statistics – CPI Annual Rate
- Bank of England Database – Official Bank Rate (end of month)
Notes:
- Since 2004, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) is the measure used by the Government to set the Bank of England’s 2% target for inflation. It is based on a harmonised methodology developed by Eurostat and allows for international comparisons to be drawn.
- Inflation can also be measured by the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH). The CPIH builds on the CPI to include a measure of the costs associated with owning, maintaining and living in one’s own home, known as owner occupiers’ housing costs (OOH), along with Council Tax. The Office for National Statistics provides more information on the different measures and approaches to consumer price inflation.
- The ‘Bank of England Bank Rate’ is also known as the ‘Bank of England base rate’ or ‘the interest rate’. The Bank Rate influences the level of all other interest rates in the UK, and is a tool used by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to control inflation. The Bank of England provides more information on how changes in the Bank Rate affect the UK economy.
- The chart shows the official Bank Rate at the end of each month. It does not include data on the rare occasions when the Bank Rate has been changed multiple times in a single month.
- Prior to May 2012 the official Bank Rate was published to two decimal places but has since been changed to four decimal places for consistency.
| Key dates | |
|---|---|
| 1992 | Black Wednesday In September 1992, the UK is forced to withdraw from the exchange rate mechanism of the European Monetary System. |
| 1993 | Bank of England Inflation Report The Bank of England publishes its first quarterly Inflation Report, now called the Monetary Policy Report. |
| 1998 | Bank of England Act Legislation granting the Bank of England full operational independence, including the setting of interest rates in order to meet the inflation target set by the Government. |
| 2007 - 2009 | Global financial crisis A severe global downturn in economic activity leading to recession in the UK. |
| 2020 | COVID-19 pandemic January 2020 saw the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the UK. |
| 2022 | Conflict in Ukraine Russia launches military action in Ukraine in February 2022. |
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