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0 The Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates on hold when policymakers announce their latest decision on Thursday.
The Bank rate heavily influences the cost of borrowing for households, businesses and the government, as well as returns for savers.
It was cut from 4.75% to 4.5% following the last meeting of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in February.
While no change is expected when the announcement comes at 12:00GMT, many analysts are forecasting two further cuts by the end of the year.
Widespread impact
The MPC has a membership of five women and four men, including economists and leading figures at the Bank of England. It is chaired by the Bank’s governor, Andrew Bailey. How these members vote will be closely watched by the markets.
The committee meets eight times a year, and its decisions have a widespread impact on everything from the cost of mortgages to businesses’ ability to invest.
Its primary objective is to use interest rates to ensure inflation – the annual rate of rising prices – hits the government’s target of 2%.
The latest calculations showed the inflation rate rose to 3% in January, one reason why commentators expect interest rates to remain on hold this time around.
Lowering rates could stimulate more spending by consumers and push inflation higher.
That could be a blow to some homeowners who would like to see interest rates and, in turn, mortgage rates continue to fall.
“Bank of England policymakers have been warning on inflation and lingering uncertainty, so further rate cutting relief for homeowners looks to be an unlikely outcome from this month’s meeting,” said Paul Heywood, chief data and analytics officer at credit agency Equifax UK.
