Governor Mervyn King is likely to slap down such criticism on Wednesday, however, arguing that the Bank’s last inflation forecast, in May, made a rise at some stage implicit.

Base rate moved only once last year, also in August, and that was downward. Economists had been hoping for a repeat, as had business. Martin Temple, director-general of the Engineering Employers’ Federation, said the rise was premature.

This week’s inflation report is likely to signal that the hike has put the Bank on track to meet the 2% inflation target in the medium term.

“The MPC (the Bank’s monetary policy committee) will have little difficulty justifying last week’s rate hike on the basis of the recent economic data,” said Capital Economics, the consultancy, in a report.

“What made it more surprising, however, was the lack of any real attempt to prepare the markets.

“This hardly seems to sit comfortably with the aim of making policy ‘boring’.

“The obvious lesson is not to pay too much attention to the signals coming from the committee over the coming months — rather, the data will be the key. If, as we expect, the tone softens as the US slowdown gathers pace and spending growth at home slows, last week’s hike should be an isolated event.”

But other economists have joined with the money markets in expecting further rises. Barclays Capital said another increase in November was now likely. Robert Barrie at Credit Suisse First Boston predicted that rates would increase by a further half-point by the middle of next year.

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