Global central banks wrestle with slowing growth, stubborn inflation

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Bank of England left its key interest rate unchanged, with major economies on both sides of the Atlantic confronting a nasty mix of faltering economic growth, rising inflation and President Trump’s trade threats. The BOE left the rate at 4.5% on Thursday, matching the Federal Reserve’s move a day earlier.

The U.K.’s central bank had lowered borrowing costs in February. Britain faces many uncertainties, including the possibility that trade conflicts initiated by the U.S. will chill global growth and demand for U.K.

exports—even if the country escapes direct tariffs on products other than steel and aluminum. “There’s a lot of economic uncertainty," said BOE Gov. Andrew Bailey.

“We still think that interest rates are on a gradually declining path. We’ll be looking very closely at how the global and domestic economies are evolving." One of the two policymakers who had backed a larger reduction in the key rate at the last meeting voted for a rate cut, but the other sided with the majority. The Federal Reserve Wednesday left its key rate unchanged for a second straight meeting, while lowering its growth forecast and raising its inflation projections in response to rising tariffs.

A slew of central banks made decisions in the wake of the Fed. Switzerland’s central bank cut its key rate for a fifth straight meeting, a move that economists expect to be its last in this cycle. Sweden’s central bank left its key rate unchanged and signaled it is likely to remain on hold this year and next.