United Kingdom policy rate holds at 3.75% in October 2026

The central bank policy rate in the United Kingdom was 3.75% in October 2026, according to the Bank of England. That was the same level as in September 2026. Housing Market Group's calculation from Bank of England figures puts the change between September 2026 and October 2026 at 0 percentage points.

The October reading continues a flat stretch. Bank of England figures show the rate at 3.75% in June 2026, July 2026 and August 2026 as well as in September 2026, so the benchmark did not move at any point in the months listed in this sheet. For mortgage lenders and borrowers in the United Kingdom, that means the policy rate has offered a steady reference point through the middle and later part of 2026.

Compared with a year before, the rate is somewhat lower. The Bank of England's policy rate stood at 4.0% in October 2025. By HMG's calculation, the rate in October 2026 was 0.25 percentage points below its October 2025 level.

That downward move contrasts with what happened in most of the other countries in this comparison. According to the Reserve Bank of Australia, Australia's policy rate was 4.6% in October 2026, which HMG calculates as 1 percentage points higher than in October 2025. The Bank of Canada's rate was 2.5% in October 2026, up 0.25 percentage points on a year earlier. Deutsche Bundesbank figures put Germany's rate at 2.5% in October 2026, and Banco de España figures show the same 2.5% for Spain, with each 0.5 percentage points higher than in October 2025 by HMG's calculation. In Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia reported a rate of 2.75% in October 2026, which HMG calculates as a change of 0 percentage points on the year.

When the countries with year-on-year figures are ranked by their change between October 2025 and October 2026, the United Kingdom comes 6 of 6 in HMG's calculation, where a fall is treated as a negative change. Put simply, the UK was the only one in this group whose policy rate fell over the year, while the others either rose or held steady.

On the level of rates, the United Kingdom's 3.75% in October 2026 was higher than the figures for Canada, Germany, Spain and Malaysia, and lower than Australia's 4.6%. Bank Indonesia reported a rate of 5.75% for Indonesia in October 2026, the highest level among the countries in this sheet. The UK therefore sits in the middle of the group by level, with a policy rate that has been unchanged in recent months and is below where it stood in October 2025.