Warnings Start for Bank of England Interest Rate Hike
There will be much talk this week as the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) prepares to meet for monthly talks about the state of the economy and solutions needed to be made in relation to the Bank’s rate. It is expected that a change will be made in the usual unanimous decision to leave the standard base interest rate set at 0.5%. At least two and perhaps three of the nine members could put in a vote for a rate hike.
In the last half of 2014, two members of the MPC were voting for a rate change up until early this year when inflation fell to zero. Martin Weale and Ian McCafferty could be backed by David Miles. Mr. Miles’ term on the MPC is about to end and he has signaled recently in statements that it is time to start pushing rates back to normal levels.
The current rate has gone unchanged since March 2009.
For the first time, the Bank of England will reveal their interest rate decision, the reasoning behind the MPC’s decision to leave the rate steady or put through an increase, and the quarterly economic forecast will all be released on the very same day and it is being called “Super Thursday”.
As warnings become louder, the demand for mortgage and remortgage lending will increase as borrowers seek to take advantage of the low interest rate offerings available. While other warnings have come and gone, this time some experts are forecasting at least a 0.25% increase by the end of the year.