This week central banks pressed ahead with interest rate rises to bring down stubborn inflation, despite unease about the strength of the banking sector in the wake of the takeover of Credit Suisse and collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Yesterday the Bank of England followed the US Federal Reserve and Norway’s central bank by also raising rates by another 0.25% to 4.25%, the highest rate in 14 years. Earlier in the week, markets had thought the Bank of England could freeze rates but after Wednesday’s surprising jump in inflation to 10.4%, that position became untenable. On the bright side the UK central bank said it no longer expected a recession this year but growth would still be low. Economists think that yesterday’s hike – the 11th in a row since December 2021 – could be the last before rates begin to fall back down.