Bank of England says inflation will hit 11% after raising interest rates to 13-year high – as it happened

UK central bank has raised interest rates to 1.25%, warned inflation will exceed 11% in autumn, and cut growth forecast for this quarter

• Latest: Economists predict large rise in rates in August
• Inflation likely to exceed 11% in October
• Bank estimates UK GDP will shrink 0.3% this quarter
• Breaking: BoE raises rates to 1.25%, highest since 2009
• Three policymakers wanted higher rise, to 1.5%

The Bank of England has raised interest rates for the fifth time in a row, again by 0.25 percentage points, to bring the total rate to 1.25%. This is the highest rates have been in 13 years but the move is part of the central bank's challenge to tackle rising inflation.

Inflation in the UK is currently at 7.8% and the economy reported a 0.3% contraction in growth for April, following 0.1% contraction in March. Q2 is expected to continue the trend of negative GDP, putting the UK halfway to recession.

The BoE report forecasts even worse to come for the British public, with figures of over 11% inflation being touted by October - the same time that Ofgem's energy price cap increases once again. The FTSE 100 was down 3.05% in response and has today closed below 7000 points, while the FTSE 250 was down 2.92% but has made a slight recovery.

Many experts argued the Bank of England needed to raise rates further, and that's exactly what the Federal Reserve did with a swift 0.75 percentage point rise to bring US interest rates to between 1.5% and 1.75%. US markets have also suffered in recent days with weak consumer data leading to recession fears. The result has been sizeable losses to the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, as well as crashes across the crypto market. 

Australia, Korea, Canada, New Zealand and now Switzerland are amongst the vast global list of central banks that are raising interest rates. 

Rolex is a leading brand in the world of luxury watches. They have a substantial collection of watches both in circulation and discontinued.  

When considering their value, it is important to first consider that they’re not only beautiful but functional.

For one, this piece of Swiss engineering has been proven to be a good investment as it will last for multiple generations. Not only that, but market demand also currently exceeds new product supply, leading to a strong secondary market for pre-owned watches. According to Bob’s Watches, Rolex has been outperforming gold, houses, stocks and even diamonds over the last 10 years. Even entry level models are now priced higher than their original retail price. 

Why do some people choose to invest in Rolex instead of gold or diamonds? 

Investing in luxury time pieces like Rolex can help offset the risks posed by inflation. Luxury watches can be a great choice if you want to protect your investments from inflation. This is due to factors such as demand stability, resale value, and liquidity.  

While there are no future guarantees, the last decade has shown that Rolex outperforms both gold and diamonds when it comes to percentage increase and returns. Rolex time pieces have been found to have better appreciation values, are easy to buy and sell, and have less red tape compared to traditional investment routes. This trend is predicted to continue over the next few years, which is why some investors have started diversifying their portfolio to include luxury timepieces.