The Bank of England raised interest rates and surprised markets with its large minority in favour of an even bigger hike. The pound rose.

The UK central bank lifted the benchmark to 0.5% from 0.25%, the first back-to-back rate increases at consecutive meetings since 2004. Four of the nine policy makers voted in favour of a hike to 0.75%, which would have been the biggest single move upward since the BoE was granted operational independence in 1997.