Bank of England cuts interest rate for the first time in four years

The Bank of England cut interest rates Thursday for the first time since the start of the pandemic, providing some relief to households squeezed by the highest borrowing costs in 16 years.

The decision takes the benchmark interest rate in the United Kingdom to 5% from 5.25%, where it had stood since September following the longest-running series of successive rate hikes in at least a century.

The knife-edge decision saw five members of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee vote to reduce the rate, while four wanted to keep it on hold.

The rate is still the highest it has been since April 2008 but the central bank’s first cut since March 2020 could bolster the housing market as mortgage costs fall.

— This is a developing story and will be updated.