At the beginning of the year, investors expected the Bank of England to implement six interest rate cuts; however, as 2024 is approaching its end, the benchmark interest rate is a full percentage point higher than expected 12 months ago. The Bank of England is expected to maintain the interest rate at 4.75% during Thursday's policy meeting and continue to uphold the guideline that "it is still appropriate to gradually relax restrictive policies." Although the bank's governor, Bailey, stated that there could be four cuts in 2025, the market, after experiencing a failure of aggressive rate cut bets, only expects three cuts next year, potentially starting in February.