LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) - Investors on Wednesday bet
heavily on the Bank of England raising interest rates by at
least a further quarter of a percentage point on Thursday after
official data showed inflation unexpectedly jumped last month.
Interest rate futures suggested a 100% chance of an increase
in Bank Rate to at least 4.25% from its current level of 4.0%.
This probability is up sharply from Tuesday when the chance of
the BoE pausing its rate hike run was seen at almost 50%.
The yield on the two-year gilt - which is
sensitive to interest rate speculation - was up about 19 basis
at 0900 GMT on Wednesday at 3.47%. Shortly before, it had peaked
at 3.482%, the highest level since March 15, before the upheaval
at Swiss bank Credit Suisse.
(Reporting by William Schomberg; editing by David Milliken)
Reuters Messaging: william.schomberg.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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