Interest rates will not rise until 2014 “at the earliest,” experts have suggested, after the Bank of England said it is unlikely to change its monetary policy stance soon.
The July minutes of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) showed members voted seven to two to hold rates at 0.5%, with it saying that recent economic data make it unlikely it will raise rates in the near term.
The news came a day after some lenders launched their cheapest mortgage deals in 15 years, reducing rates on fixed and tracker mortgages.
The long-held view is that interest rates will remain on hold and experts are not expecting interest rates to rise now until 2014 at the earliest.
The historically low base rate, first introduced in March 2009, could be here for at least another 12 months, according to most financial experts.
Other economic analysts have said the Bank is “between a rock and a hard place” with both growth deteriorating faster than expected, and inflation pressures remaining high.
