Interest rates held at 5% by the Bank of England

It was announced today (19/09/2024) that the Bank of England has once again kept the Base Rate of interest at 5%.

This follows a vote by the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee, responsible for deciding whether to increase, decrease, or maintain the rate, with eight members voting to hold it steady and one voting against.

The decision, made at midday, comes after news that inflation, which tracks the rise in UK consumer prices, remained at 2.2% last month. Although this figure is slightly above the Bank's 2% target, Governor Andrew Bailey has cautioned that people should not expect a significant reduction in rates in the coming months.

Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, has previously stated that the Bank must “make sure inflation stays low and be careful not to cut interest rates too quickly or by too much”.

John Pringle, a Mortgage Adviser in Tottenham and Edmonton, North London, commented:

“While the BoE rate was cut from 5.25% to 5% in August, the first reduction since March 2020, the cost of borrowing remains high, with homeowners on low fixed-rate mortgages still facing the prospect of higher repayments when deals expire over the next few years.”