Britain’s leading commercial banks, heeding a signal...

Britain’s leading commercial banks, heeding a signal from the Bank of England, announced a half-point increase in their base lending rate to 11%. The central bank, seeking to control inflation, has signaled seven half-point increases in the benchmark lending rate since early June, when the rate stood at 7.5%. The last increase was announced July 18. Britain’s annual inflation rate stood at 4.6% in June. The pound rose after the announcement to $1.6960 from $1.6915.