Despite that, the latest Reuters poll narrowly showed Bank Rate peaking at 5.50%, down from 5.75% predicted in July. All but one of 62 economists in the Aug. 16-23 poll expected Bank Rate to go up 25 basis points to 5.50% next month. The medians showed Bank Rate remaining on hold after September's hike until Q3 next year, though a significant minority - 47% or 29 of 62 economists - estimated a higher peak. That is a flip from a July poll when a slim majority, 51% or 31 of 61 participants, predicted Bank Rate at 5.75% or more by year-end. The wider poll showed inflation averaging 6.8% and 4.7% this quarter and next.

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Persons: Luke MacGregor, BoE, James Smith, Simon Wells, Shaloo Shrivastava, Jonathan Cable, Mumal Rathore, Rahul Trivedi, Purujit Arun, Ross Finley, John Stonestreet Organizations: of, REUTERS, Bank of England, Reuters, ING, Reserve, European Central Bank, HSBC, Thomson Locations: of England, London, BRITAIN, BENGALURU, LONDON, Western Europe