Europe's two largest central banks have raised key interest rates in a bid to tackle record high inflation.
The decision by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England on Thursday was made after their policy meetings.

Officials at the ECB have decided to raise the benchmark interest rate by 0.5 percentage points to 3 percent.

It was the bank's fifth rate hike in a row since last July.

ECB President Christine Lagarde expressed a willingness to give priority to curbing inflation amid concerns over an economic slowdown in the eurozone.

She said, "In view of the underlying inflation pressures, we intend to raise interest rates by another 50 basis points at our next monetary policy meeting in March and we will then evaluate the subsequent path of our monetary policy."

The consumer price index in the eurozone fell to 8.5 percent in January from a year earlier while inflation slowed for the third straight month.
But it is clear that an economic slowdown in the area is inevitable. Its GDP increased by 0.1 percent in the October-to-December period from the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England has announced it will raise its key interest rate by 0.5 percentage points to 4 percent.
It's the tenth increase in a row, and shows the bank's commitment to taming inflation despite concerns over an economic slowdown.