Macro Snapshot — Bank of England raises rates after US increase; China’s services activity falls sharply 

Macro Snapshot — Bank of England raises rates after US increase; China’s services activity falls sharply 

RIYADH: The central banks of the UK and Brazil have raised their rates by a full percentage point, following the US Fed’s half-point hike on Wednesday. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain have also raised their key rates by 0.5 percentage points, while Kuwait's central bank increased its discount rate by 25 basis points. Norway has resisted any rise, keeping its rates on hold, and the European Central Bank board member Fabio Panetta has also advised against a hike in rates. The Bank of England raised interest rates to their highest since 2009 at 1 percent on Thursday to counter inflation now heading above 10 percent, as it sent a warning that Britain risks falling into recession. The BoE’s nine rate-setters voted 6-3 for the quarter-point rise from 0.75 percent. But Catherine Mann, Jonathan Haskel and Michael Saunders called for a bigger increase to 1.25 percent to stamp out the risk of the inflation surge getting embedded in the economy. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a more dovish 8-1 vote to raise rates to 1 percent, with one policymaker opposing a hike. The BoE’s move represented its fourth consecutive rate hike since December — the fastest increase in