Investors on Wednesday bet heavily on the Bank of England raising interest rates by at least a further quarter of a percentage point on Thursday after official data showed inflation unexpectedly jumped last month.

Interest rate futures suggested a 100% chance of an increase in Bank Rate to at least 4.25% from its current level of 4.0%. This probability is up sharply from Tuesday when the chance of the BoE pausing its rate hike run was seen at almost 50%.

The yield on the two-year gilt - which is sensitive to interest rate speculation - was up about 19 basis at 0900 GMT on Wednesday at 3.47%. Shortly before, it had peaked at 3.482%, the highest level since March 15, before the upheaval at Swiss bank Credit Suisse. (Reporting by William Schomberg; editing by David Milliken)