By the time you’re reading this on Thursday the Bank of England will probably have raised its main interest rate to 4.75% and signal that there are more increases to come over the coming months.

For readers in Northern Ireland, where borrowing costs are already well ahead of what is available in the Republic, this means that investments and working capital are set to become even more expensive.

For the euro area, there was another 0.25% increase in rates from the European Central Bank last week. This puts the key rate at 4%, not too far behind the Bank of England.

ADVERTISEMENT

While another 0.25% rate hike is expected from the ECB at its next meeting in late July, there is still a chance that might be the end of the Central Bank’s push higher.

Speaking this week, ECB chief economist Philip Lane said it was much too early to commit to what might happen at the September meeting.

There are some signs that the Central Bank is becoming increasingly concerned about growth prospects in the euro-area. If those worries trump inflation fears, then the bank will stop raising rates next month.