Bank leaves interest rates unchanged

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has decided to keep interest rates on hold at 5.5 per cent.

Today's (January 10th) announcement follows last month's 0.25 per cent cut in rates, which came after a series of interest rate increases over the previous year.

Commenting on the effect of the decision on homeowners, head of Abbey Mortgages, Nici Audhlam-Gardiner, claimed that a cut was likely in the near future.

"Borrowers are still feeling stretched after the rate increases from the last couple of years, and those coming to the end of their fixed rate deals are still likely to see their interest rates go up," she warned.

"There are some excellent fixed rate deals to be had in the market, and these are likely to continue to be the preferred option for more cautious borrowers until a downward trend in base rate is seen," she added.

Analysts told the BBC that a rate cut was more likely after the publication of the Bank's quarterly inflation report next month.

Related Articles

HomeBuy Direct offers housing hopeLenders make house price crash worseBanks Squeal Under Government PressureRate cuts have limited successTwo year fixed rates tumble