It is raising its key interest rate by 0.75 percentage points, taking the bank's benchmark lending rate to 3.75% - 4%. It now sits at its highest rate since January 2008.

The bank's hopes are that the hike will bring down price inflation but critics are worried about the 'serious downturn' that will come with it.

Further increases are expected asFederal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said: "We still have some ways to go."

Similar announcement is expected in the UK today, as countries across the globe continue to raise their own interest rates in an attempt to solve their inflation problems.