UK Interest Rates on Hold

UK interest rates have been left on hold as the Bank of England said it was keeping watch on a "highly unpredictable" world amid rising energy prices.

The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep rates unchanged at 4.25%.

In a split vote, with six members opting to hold and three preferring to cut, the MPC said a "gradual and careful approach" to reducing borrowing costs continued to be the right course of action.

Bank governor Andrew Bailey said: "Interest rates remain on a gradual downward path, although we've left them on hold today.

"The world is highly unpredictable."

He added that there were "signs of softening in the labour market" - referring to indicators including slower hiring and wage growth easing - which were being closely watched to see how far they feed into UK inflation.