The Bank of England raised interest rates for the first time in over three years on Thursday and warned that at least one more increase was likely if the US-Iran conflict continues, as it started on a path that its main peers have already embarked on.British inflation is likely to reach around 5% in the middle of next year, the BoE said, more than double the central bank's target and a blow to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who has sought to ease cost of living pressures.While there was little evidence so far of faster inflation outside sectors directly affected by higher energy costs, the BoE said the amount of inflation pressure coming down the road from months of high energy prices required a rate rise now, even though that will increase borrowing costs for businesses and many home-owners."Today's increase should not be seen as the first in an inevitable long sequence of hikes. That is not inevitable. But unless the conflict in the Middle East is resolved, neither does it seem likely to be the last increase," Governor Andrew Bailey said in his opening remarks at a press conference.The central bank's Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-1 to raise rates to 4% from 3.75%, but in contrast to expectations in a Reuters poll, the dissent came not from a policymaker seeking to keep rates on hold but one seeking a bigger hike.Catherine Mann, who said last month that the BoE had been slow to reassure markets that it had a grip on inflation, voted for a half-point interest rate increase to 4.25%.Sterling strengthened against the US dollar after the decision and two-year British government bond yields — which are sensitive to expectations of future rate moves — rose by a relatively sizeable 5 basis points."Today's (rate) move still feels like a measured, credibility-preserving one rather than the start of an aggressive cycle. Inflation is elevated, but the evidence that it is broadening beyond energy remains mixed," said Madison Faller, a global investment strategist at JP Morgan Private Bank.Until now, the BoE had not followed the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and other central banks in raising rates in response to inflation pressures from the Iran war.Bailey said a dip in oil prices over the last 48 hours — a move largely driven by the results of US midterm elections — was positive, but warned "there is already a significant amount of inflationary pressure in the pipeline"."We've seen encouraging news in the last 48 hours. That is not going to cause me to tell you that there is no need to move interest rates up again, because there is a lot that we need to see and observe and understand about this," he said. "But, obviously, it has an impact on my view certainly of where the outlook, where the profile of inflation will go to."In minutes of November's decision, Mann said she was concerned about "non-linear inflation risks" as consumer price inflation had risen to 3.5% in September, which she viewed as a potential trigger for a loss of confidence in the central bank.In previous months, Bailey had argued the BoE could take its time before deciding to raise, as it had higher interest rates at the start of the conflict than other central banks and investors had previously expected it to cut rates this year.Coming into Thursday's decision, both investors and financial markets had been near-certain there would be a rate rise this month. But financial markets also priced in three quarter-point rate rises for 2027, more than most economists think is likely.Bailey said such differences reflected financial markets pricing in tail risks of a sharp further rise in energy prices, while economists' expectations were based on the single most likely path, of a smaller amount of further tightening."Without news which softens the risks to inflationary pressures, I can see the argument for a further increase in rates," he said in the policy minutes.Deputy Governor Clare Lombardelli said a further rate hike was likely to be needed in the near term.External MPC member Megan Greene and Chief Economist Huw Pill — who like Mann had voted for a rate hike in September — talked of a need for "further tightening" and "additional hikes" respectively.MPC members Swati Dhingra and Alan Taylor — who had previously been reluctant to raise rates — said they would need stronger evidence of second-round effects before backing more tightening.In its central forecast for growth and inflation, the BoE revised up its expectations for growth this year and next to 1.6% and 1.3% — notably stronger than the government's Office for Budget Responsibility predicted last week.The upgrade follows strong official data this year, and the BoE attributed some of the strength to spending on artificial intelligence and to a small, temporary boost from finance minister John Healey's annual budget last week.But the BoE now sees inflation peaking at an average 4.8% in the second quarter of next year. In a more adverse scenario where oil prices peak at around $130 a barrel compared to around $100 currently, inflation hits 6.2% in the third quarter of 2027.Under the central scenario, inflation is not seen returning to 2% until the third quarter of 2028, six months later than the BoE predicted in July, when forecasts were prepared during a lull in the US-Iran conflict which had lowered energy costs.

The Doha Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) recently hosted its 12th Annual Conference, ‘UTKARSH: Beyond Boundaries’.The inaugural session was graced by Indian ambassador, Dr K Srikar Reddy, and Laila al-Jefairi, director, Professional Services Sector, Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), as distinguished guests, as well as Dr Ankur Aggarwal, founder and chairman of BNW Developments.Arun Somanath, chairperson of ICAI Doha Chapter, and Dewaki Nandan Tibrewal, vice chairperson, welcomed the dignitaries and participants.During his address, Reddy highlighted India’s progress across various sectors and encouraged Indian entrepreneurs to explore opportunities under Qatar National Vision 2030, reaffirming India’s commitment to working with Qatar as a trusted partner in its journey towards becoming a developed nation.Al-Jefairi noted that the conference theme reflects the profession’s evolving role amid technological advancements and growing expectations around transparency and sustainability, with accountants increasingly contributing to strategy and trusted advisory beyond reporting and compliance.The sessions covered a wide range of contemporary themes, combining practical professional insights with personal experiences and perspectives on leadership, career development and navigating change.The conference featured the following speakers: Amit Arora, Lt Cdr Bijay Nair (Retd), Anand Rathi, Sarthak Ahuja, Master Manjunath Nayaker, Dilip Vengsarkar, Kanhaiya Rathi, Joy John, Hanifa Ymer, Dileep Balakrishnan, Raghu SD, Nabil Ghodhbane, and Dr Seby Cyriac.A key highlight of the conference was the presentation of the CA Professional Achiever Award to Shanavas Bava, president of the Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF) in Qatar, in recognition of his contributions and service to the community.The conclusion of the conference reaffirmed ICAI Doha Chapter’s commitment to creating meaningful learning experiences, encouraging new perspectives, and empowering professionals to grow beyond conventional boundaries.In his vote of thanks, Tibrewal expressed appreciation for the support of the ICAI leadership, the Indian Embassy in Qatar, and the corporate fraternity for their continued collaboration with the chapter in its journey of professional excellence.