Bank of England forecast to cut interest rates amid rising unemployment and Trump tariffs

City predicts quarter-point drop to 4% when MPC meets on Thursday

Bank of England policymakers are widely expected to cut interest rates this week to prevent the economy sliding backwards amid rising unemployment and the hit to global trade from Donald Trump's fresh round of import tariffs.

City traders are betting that the Bank's nine-member monetary policy committee (MPC) will reduce the headline rate on Thursday by 0.25 percentage points to 4%, marking the fifth cut since last August and taking interest rates back to where they were in March 2023.