Bank of England lifts Bank Rate to 4%, ending a long pause

What happened

The Bank of England set its Bank Rate at 4% in its policy decision published on Thursday, Nov. 5, the main figure of the day. The decision carries the period November 5, 2026 and counts as a final official rate decision, not an estimate or a projection from the Bank. For the full schedule of past and coming releases, open the Bank of England rate decision calendar before you size any trade.

Bank Rate rises from 3.75%, the level the Bank set on September 17, 2026, to 4% now, a small move up. The September decision itself left the rate unchanged against the July level of 3.75% recorded on July 30, 2026. Today's decision therefore ends a pause and marks the first change since the cut recorded on December 18, 2025.

At the November meeting a year earlier, the Bank of England set Bank Rate at 4% on November 6, 2025, the oldest decision in the series shown here. That means the rate is back at the level it showed then, after a small step down to 3.75% in between. The latest decision to 4% therefore returns the setting to that earlier November level.

Why it matters

On December 18, 2025 the Bank set Bank Rate at 3.75%, a small move down from 4% on November 6, 2025. It then kept the rate at 3.75% on February 5, 2026 and again at 3.75% on March 19, 2026. Each of those two decisions left the rate unchanged against the one before it, so the pause started right after that move down.

The spring and summer meetings repeated the pattern, with 3.75% on April 30, 2026 and 3.75% on June 18, 2026. The July decision on July 30, 2026 also left Bank Rate at 3.75%, unchanged from the level set in June. Together these decisions form a plateau before the move, and the recent months show no change at all in the series.

At its meeting on September 17, 2026, the Bank left Bank Rate unchanged at 3.75%, the same level as in July. By November 5, 2026 it had raised the policy rate to 4%, a small rise in the official level. The Bank of England publishes each decision on its site, and the Bank of England rate decision releases page lists the series.

The full path of Bank Rate runs from 4% on November 6, 2025 down to 3.75% on December 18, 2025. It stayed at that level through the meeting on July 30, 2026 and the one on September 17, 2026. It then rose to 4% on November 5, 2026, closing the loop on a full cycle of one cut and a long pause.

What it changes for traders

If the move to 4% lifts returns on sterling against the earlier 3.75%, the pound could attract demand from rate-differential traders. UK rate-sensitive assets, such as gilts and bank shares, could then reprice around the higher Bank Rate level. The mechanism runs through borrowing costs, which would weigh more on mortgage lenders and indebted companies if the rate stays at 4%.

The next Bank decision falls on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2026, and it will publish a new Bank Rate level. The following decision comes on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2027, with another Bank Rate level to be announced for that meeting. Both dates give traders the first official checks on where the rate stands relative to 4%, the level set in this latest decision.

If the Bank keeps the rate at 4% on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2026, sterling and gilts could turn to the following meeting for fresh direction. A further change could alter the rate gap with other currencies and could reprice short-dated gilt yields quickly. Index traders could see UK exporters and domestic banks react in different ways to either outcome, since the pound and the rate pull on them differently.

Prop firm challenges restrict trading around central bank decisions, so read the prop firm news rules before the release on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2026. If a firm limits orders near the release, spreads and slippage could raise the cost of any open trade at that time. The same restrictions would apply to the meeting on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2027, so the Bank Rate level of 4% stays relevant for planning.