Reuters Poll: Bank of England to lift bank rate by 50 bps to 4.00% on February 2

29 of 42 economists that took part in a recently conducted Reuters poll said that they expect the Bank of England to raise the policy rate by 50 basis points (bps) to 4% on February 2. 13 economists said they were looking for a smaller, 25 bps, hike.

"Median forecasts in the poll showed the Bank would then add 25 basis points in March, giving a peak rate of 4.25%," Reuters wrote.

Market reaction

This headline doesn't seem to be providing a boost to the Pound Sterling. As of writing, GBP/USD was down 0.7% on the day, trading at around 1.2290.