Bank of England Raises Interest Rate to 9%

Britain raised interest rates today for the third time this month in the government’s continuing campaign to dampen a credit-fueled consumer buying spree that it fears will rekindle inflation.

The Bank of England, Britain’s central bank, raised its money market lending rate by half a percentage point to 9%. The other rises this month, also by half a percentage point each time, occurred on June 2 and June 6.

“We will not take risks with inflation,” a spokesman for the British Treasury said of the rate increase. British financial markets had been anticipating the rise since late last week.

A Bank of England spokesman said the increase was aimed at keeping credit tight to bear down on inflation.