Budget: Sunak asks Bank of England to "keep inflation low"

In today's Budget, Sunak said: "I've written to the Governor of the Bank of England today to reaffirm their remit to achieve low and stable inflation, and people should be reassured they have a strong track record in doing so."

Inflation rose to 3.1% in September, with CPI inflation expected to average 4% over the next year.

The Office for Budget Responsibility has revised up economic growth from 4% to 6.5% this year, then 6% in 2022 and 2.1% and 1.3% in the following two years.

The Bank of England aims to keep inflation to around 2% and industry experts now predict a rise in Bank Rate from 0.1% to 0.25% before the end of the year.

David Hough, partner at Blick Rothenberg, commented: "There was a clear hint that interest rates will rise, as the Chancellor stated he has written to the Bank of England on the importance of controlling inflation. CPI is estimated to average 4% over the next year and may require interest rates to rise to prevent this growing further. This would impact those with mortgages on variable rates and businesses reliant on debt funding."