Why have interest rates gone up in the UK?
Published . Updated .
Key takeaways
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War in the Middle East has affected energy prices and pushed up inflation – we have raised Bank Rate to curb any knock-on effects on the rest of the economy
Directly affected
- No company is named in this report.
Indirectly affected
- USO United States Oil Fund-5.0% 30d
United States Oil Fund: its price follows crude oil. Linked by “energy prices” (oil) in this story.
- XLE Energy Select Sector SPDR+6.9% 30d
Energy Select Sector SPDR: its price follows crude oil. Linked by “energy prices” (oil) in this story.
- XLF Financial Select Sector SPDR-1.4% 30d
Financial Select Sector SPDR: it holds banks. Linked by “bank” (banks) in this story.
- BWET Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF-3.3% 17d
Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF: it tracks tanker freight rates. Linked by “energy prices” (tanker shipping) in this story.
- EWU iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF-2.3% 19d
iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF holds stocks listed in the UK, which this story is about (“uk”).
- BWX SPDR Bloomberg International Treasury Bond ETF
SPDR Bloomberg International Treasury Bond ETF holds government bonds outside the US, which react to inflation and interest-rate news like this one in the UK
- EFA iShares MSCI EAFE ETF-2.4% 8d
iShares MSCI EAFE ETF is a broad fund of developed-market stocks that includes the UK
- BAC Bank of America-11.4% 30d
Bank of America (national commercial banks): banks' earnings move with lending, deposits and rates. Linked by “bank” (banks) in this story.
Price reaction, T-5 to T+3
| Ticker | T-5 | T-3 | T-1 | T0 | T+1 | T+2 | T+3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USO | +15.71% | +7.84% | base | +1.93% | after close | after close | after close |
| XLE | +8.14% | +5.85% | base | -2.34% | after close | after close | after close |
| XLF | -3.78% | -2.75% | base | -2.65% | after close | after close | after close |
| BWET | +32.30% | +28.62% | base | -4.78% | after close | after close | after close |
| EWU | -2.57% | -1.84% | base | -2.15% | after close | after close | after close |
| BWX | -0.60% | -0.53% | base | +0.05% | after close | after close | after close |
| EFA | -1.31% | -1.92% | base | -2.88% | after close | after close | after close |
| BAC | -0.95% | -4.00% | base | -3.07% | after close | after close | after close |
Closing-price change versus T-1, the last close before the story. T0 to T+3 fill in after each market close. Prices: Alpaca IEX.
Why have interest rates gone up in the UK? Bank of England
Source: Bank of England
Ishares Tr (EWU) since this story, compared with the market
| Company | When | Move | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| BAC | that day | -3.07% | final price |
| BAC | three days earlier | -4.00% | final price |
| BAC | five days earlier | -0.95% | final price |
| BWET | that day | -4.78% | final price |
| BWET | three days earlier | +28.62% | final price |
| BWET | five days earlier | +32.30% | final price |
| Spdr Series Trust (BWX) | that day | +0.05% | final price |
| Spdr Series Trust (BWX) | three days earlier | -0.53% | final price |
| Spdr Series Trust (BWX) | five days earlier | -0.60% | final price |
| Ishares Tr (EFA) | that day | -2.88% | final price |
| Ishares Tr (EFA) | three days earlier | -1.92% | final price |
| Ishares Tr (EFA) | five days earlier | -1.31% | final price |
| Ishares Tr (EWU) | that day | -2.15% | final price |
| Ishares Tr (EWU) | three days earlier | -1.84% | final price |
| Ishares Tr (EWU) | five days earlier | -2.57% | final price |
| USO | that day | +1.93% | final price |
| USO | three days earlier | +7.84% | final price |
| USO | five days earlier | +15.71% | final price |
| XLE | that day | -2.34% | final price |
| XLE | three days earlier | +5.85% | final price |
| XLE | five days earlier | +8.14% | final price |
| XLF | that day | -2.65% | final price |
| XLF | three days earlier | -2.75% | final price |
| XLF | five days earlier | -3.78% | final price |
Congressional trades in the stocks in this story
- Sen. John Boozman sold Ishares Tr (EFA) (jointly held), worth $1,001 - $15,000 on 9 Sep 2026. That is 57 days before publication. Filed 21 Oct 2026. View the filing.
- Rep. Rohit Khanna sold Bank Of America (BAC) (held by a spouse), worth $1,001 - $15,000 on 9 Sep 2026. That is 57 days before publication. Filed 7 Oct 2026. View the filing.
- Rep. Laurel Lee sold Bank Of America (BAC) (held by a spouse), worth $50,001 - $100,000 on 24 Aug 2026. That is 73 days before publication. Filed 16 Oct 2026. View the filing.
- Rep. Rohit Khanna sold Linde (LIN) (held by a spouse), worth $15,001 - $50,000 on 25 Sep 2026. That is 41 days before publication. Filed 7 Oct 2026. View the filing.
- Rep. Kevin Hern sold Linde (LIN) (jointly held), worth $15,001 - $50,000 on 17 Sep 2026. That is 49 days before publication. Filed 13 Oct 2026. View the filing.
- Rep. Rohit Khanna bought Linde (LIN) (held by a spouse), worth $1,001 - $15,000 on 4 Sep 2026. That is 62 days before publication. Filed 7 Oct 2026. View the filing.
Public disclosure filings, not a recommendation. The filing link is the source document. News use of these reports still sits under 5 U.S.C. § 13107(c).
Middle East on the map for this story
Geopolitics Alpha has 0 stories about Middle East from the past 7 days and 0 stories from the past 30. “Why have interest rates gone up in the UK?” is tagged to Middle East.
Who gains and who pays if Middle East stays in the story
Companies tied to this story
- EWU Ishares Tr
In “Why have interest rates gone up in the UK?,” Ishares Tr (EWU) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence. Reason on file: iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF holds stocks listed in the UK, which this story is about (“uk”)
- BWX Spdr Series Trust
For “Why have interest rates gone up in the UK?,” Spdr Series Trust (BWX) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence. Reason on file: SPDR Bloomberg International Treasury Bond ETF holds government bonds outside the US, which react to inflation and interest-rate news like this one in the UK
- EFA Ishares Tr
Ishares Tr (EFA) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence in the 5 Nov 2026 story “Why have interest rates gone up in the UK?.” Reason on file: iShares MSCI EAFE ETF is a broad fund of developed-market stocks that includes the UK
- HSBC Hsbc Holdings
In “Why have interest rates gone up in the UK?,” Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence. Reason on file: HSBC Holdings (savings institution, federally chartered) is one of the largest the UK-based companies traded in the US, so news about the UK (“uk”) reaches its shares
- LIN Linde
Linde (LIN) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence in the 5 Nov 2026 story “Why have interest rates gone up in the UK?.” Reason on file: Linde (industrial inorganic chemicals) is one of the largest the UK-based companies traded in the US, so news about the UK (“uk”) reaches its shares
- ARM Arm Holdings
Arm Holdings (ARM) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence in the 5 Nov 2026 story “Why have interest rates gone up in the UK?.” Reason on file: Arm Holdings (semiconductors and related devices) is one of the largest the UK-based companies traded in the US, so news about the UK (“uk”) reaches its shares
- RIO Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto (RIO) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence in the 5 Nov 2026 story “Why have interest rates gone up in the UK?.” Reason on file: Rio Tinto Group (metal mining) is one of the largest the UK-based companies traded in the US, so news about the UK (“uk”) reaches its shares
What Middle East means for Ishares Tr (EWU)
Ishares Tr (EWU) is the company in “Why have interest rates gone up in the UK?,” the 5 Nov 2026 Middle East story.
The link for Ishares Tr (EWU) is this: iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF holds stocks listed in the UK, which this story is about (“uk”)
Spdr Series Trust (BWX) is here too. Its reason reads: SPDR Bloomberg International Treasury Bond ETF holds government bonds outside the US, which react to inflation and interest-rate news like this one in the UK
Price levels for Ishares Tr (EWU)
EFA traded between 102.00 and 104.68 across 6 sessions. The latest close on file is 103.46. EWU traded between 45.65 and 47.88 across 16 sessions. The latest close on file is 46.84.
What the saved facts support for Ishares Tr (EWU)
46 out of 100
“Why have interest rates gone up in the UK?” scores 46 out of 100. The score uses 1 sources, and 7 linked companies.