UK official policy rate history since 1946
UK official policy rate history since 1946 stood at 3.75% on Sep 21, 2026, according to Bank for International Settlements (BIS). It is one of the indicators in the Bank Rate and sterling table (Value · Daily), with a complete series running from Jan 1, 1946 to Sep 21, 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Bank Rate and sterling table
| Indicator | 16-10-2026 | 15-10-2026 | 14-10-2026 | 13-10-2026 | 12-10-2026 | 09-10-2026 | 08-10-2026 | 07-10-2026 | 06-10-2026 | 05-10-2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Policy and overnight interest rates | |||||||||||
| Policy rate, long history since 1946 (BIS) | |||||||||||
| Official Bank Rate | 3.75 | 3.75 | 3.75 | 3.75 | 3.75 | 3.75 | 3.75 | 3.75 | 3.75 | 3.75 |
Understanding UK official policy rate history since 1946
Decades of official monetary policy positioning across the United Kingdom are unified within this long-term retrospective compilation, stretching continuously back through multiple institutional frameworks and historical regimes. Designed to facilitate multi-era structural research, the sequence bridges successive statutory mechanisms by maintaining consistent daily definitions of the central borrowing baseline across generations. Excluded are private market yields, commercial lending rates, and non-sterling monetary benchmarks that existed concurrently outside the official authority's remit.
Utilising this historical depth requires accounting for profound shifts in macroeconomic governance, as the operational frameworks used to implement policy have evolved substantially over the decades. Comparisons across distinct historical eras must be approached cautiously due to structural changes in financial regulation, capital controls, and the institutional mechanisms of policy transmission. Analysts should note that long spans inevitably cross boundary breaks where the underlying operational targets or definition of the monetary stance changed fundamentally.
Frequently asked questions
- How far back does this policy rate history extend?
- The continuous daily compilation spans from nineteen forty-six onward under standardised comparative metrics.
- Are commercial market rates included in this historical series?
- No, the compilation records strictly the official central policy stance rather than private sector borrowing costs.
- Why must analysts exercise caution when comparing distant decades in this series?
- Substantial structural changes in financial regulation and monetary operating frameworks occurred over the decades spanned by the data.