The Bank of England’s (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has voted unanimously to maintain bank rate at 0.75 per cent at today’s meeting.
The committee felt that keeping bank rate at 0.75 per cent was the most appropriate approach in order to meet the 2 per cent inflation target.
Commenting on the decision, XPS Pensions Group chief investment officer Simeon Willis said: “No surprises today. The MPC’s job is relatively straight forward at the moment because CPI inflation at 1.9% is tracking very close to the 2% target and GDP data is within the anticipated range.
“Whilst European and US markets are seeing downward pressure on interest rates the direction of travel is gradually up for the UK, but with the enduring political uncertainty, the decision to stick not twist was inevitable.”
Fineco Bank global head of brokerage and business development Alessandro Capuano added: “While rumours of an imminent interest rise abound, anaemic growth in the UK economy and the prospect difficult Brexit negotiations looming have stopped MPC in their tracks once more. In fact, with CPI-inflation steady, global GDP growth slowing to a 10-year low and every other major central bank is either cutting rates (RBA, RBNZ) or hinting at easing (Fed, ECB) a rate cut would probably make more sense.
“The response from the market has been to price out any prospect of a rate hike this year. Meanwhile, domestic inflation is on the rise. Interest rates will at some point need to rise to keep inflation in check, but without clarity around Brexit tying the hands of the BoE, that won’t be any time soon.”
Latest News
NEW BUILD IN FOCUS - NEW EPISODE OF THE MORTGAGE INSIDER PODCAST, OUT NOW
Figures from the National House-Building Council saw Q1 2025 register a 36% increase in new homes built across the UK compared with the same period last year, representing a striking development for the first-time buyer market. But with the higher cost of building, ongoing planning challenges and new and changing regulations, how sustainable is this growth? And what does it mean for brokers?
The role of the bridging market and technology usage in the industry
Content editor, Dan McGrath, sat down with chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, and head of development finance at Empire Global Finance, Pete Williams, to explore the role of the bridging sector, the role of AI across the industry and how the property market has fared in the Labour Government’s first year in office.
Does the North-South divide still exist in the UK housing market?
What do the most expensive parts of the country reveal about shifting demand? And why is the Manchester housing market now outperforming many southern counterparts?
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
The new episode of The Mortgage Insider podcast, out now
Regional housing markets now matter more than ever. While London and the Southeast still tend to dominate the headlines from a house price and affordability perspective, much of the growth in rental yields and buyer demand is coming from other parts of the UK.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.
© 2019 Perspective Publishing Privacy & Cookies
Recent Stories