The Bank rate is currently at its highest level for 16 years.
However, it was higher than this for much of the 1980s and 1990s, and was 17% in November 1979, external.
There have been questions about why interest rates have not been cut, with inflation dropping sharply.
Inflation was at 3.2% in March – down from a peak of 11.1% in October 2022. Further falls are expected.
Following May’s decision to keep interest rates at 5.25%, the Bank’s governor Andrew Bailey said he was “optimistic that things are moving in the right direction”.
But he said the Bank needed to “see more evidence” that price rises had slowed further before cutting interest rates.
It left open the possibility of an interest rate cut in June, after two sets of new figures for inflation and wages are published. However, a cut later in the summer is considered more likely.
The Bank has to balance the need to slow price rises against the risk of damaging the economy – which has shown little sign of growth.