the british governments borrowing costs rose thursday as the yield on fiveyear bonds reached a 15year peak on expectations of more central bank interest rate hikes to fight inflation the yield rose to 489 percent reaching a level last seen during the global financial crisis in july 2008 this was slightly above levels reached late last year during a period of uk economic turmoil that ended liz truss short spell as prime minister markets on thursday ramped up their expectations for further bank of england rate hikes the british central bank is now expected to lift its main lending rate to a peak of 65 percent in march as it seeks to dampen stubbornly high inflation prior expectations had been for a peak of 625 percent the boe lifted its interest rate in june for the 13th month in a row to five percent as it sought to bring down inflation in line with its remit uk annual inflation unexpectedly held at 87 percent in may causing the central bank to hike by a largerthanexpected amount separately on wednesday the uk government revealed it had sold twoyear gilts in an auction at the highest rate since 2007