UK official statistics (ONS, Bank of England, DEFRA, HMRC, DBT, and DfT) ·
UK Bank Rate holds at 3.75% as long gilt yields fall before the 28 Oct budget
The Bank of England's Bank Rate stayed at 3.75% through 27 Oct. The 20-year UK government bond (gilt) yield fell to 5.5955% on 26 Oct from 5.7108% on 19 Oct, despite strong inflation data on 21 Oct.
A data update from FactIQ, written from UK official statistics (ONS, Bank of England, DEFRA, HMRC, DBT, and DfT) figures. What is FactIQ?
Key figures
- UK Official Bank Rate, 27 October
- 3.75%unchanged ahead of the November meeting2026-08-202026-10-27Official Bank Rate
- UK 20-year government bond nominal par yield, 26 October
- 5.5955%down from 5.7108% on 19 Oct2026-08-192026-10-26Yield from British Government Securities - 20 year Nominal Par Yield
- UK 10-year government bond nominal par yield, 26 October
- 5.3048%down from 5.3740%; 8 Oct high was 5.4292%2026-08-192026-10-26Yield from British Government Securities - 10 year Nominal Par Yield
- US dollars per pound, 27 October
- 1.3313down from 1.3387 on 23 Oct; above the 14 Oct low of 1.31602026-08-202026-10-27Spot exchange rate - US $ into Sterling
Long-dated gilt yields fell more than short-dated ones
Gilts are UK government bonds. Their yields set the government's cost of borrowing. Nominal par yields moved as follows:
- 20-year: 5.5955% on 26 Oct, down from 5.7108% on 19 Oct. That is about 11.5 basis points (hundredths of a percentage point) lower.
- 10-year: 5.3048%, down from 5.3740%. That is about 7 basis points lower and about 12 basis points below the 8 Oct high of 5.4292%.
- 5-year: 4.9407%, down from 4.9678%. That is about 3 basis points lower.
The yield curve flattened. Inflation figures from the consumer prices index (CPI) came in strong on 21 Oct, yet the 10-year yield fell from 5.3516% to 5.2784% over 21–22 Oct. This fits with investors betting on budget discipline. The data cover the days before the 28 Oct budget, so they do not show how markets reacted to it.
Policy interest rates have not moved yet
Official Bank Rate is the Bank of England's main policy interest rate. It was 3.75% on 27 Oct. The sterling overnight index average (SONIA) measures what banks pay to borrow overnight. It was 3.7328% on 26 Oct. Neither rate had changed ahead of the Bank's November meeting.
The pound weakened only against the dollar
- US dollars per pound: 1.3313 on 27 Oct, down from 1.3387 on 23 Oct but still above the 14 Oct low of 1.3160.
- Euros per pound: 1.1946, near its high for the month (1.1830 on 15 Oct).
- Sterling effective exchange rate index, which tracks the pound against a basket of other currencies: 85.89, up from 85.16 in mid-October.
- Yen per pound: steady around 210.15.
Taken together, these moves point to dollar strength rather than a sell-off in sterling.
Source: UK official statistics (ONS, Bank of England, DEFRA, HMRC, DBT, and DfT). See all UK data in FactIQ.