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NewsConsumers see interest rates held at 0.5%
Consumers see interest rates held at 0.5%
Posted by Chris Stevenson
Consumers in the UK are unlikely to experience an interest rate hike any time soon due to ongoing concerns about the fragility of the global economic recovery.
That is the view of Ian McCafferty, chief economic advisor at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), who was speaking after it emerged the Bank of England had opted to maintain the base rate at 0.5 per cent once again.
This represents the 30th month in a row that officials on the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee have voted to keep the figure static at this historically low level and Mr McCafferty noted this displays the fact that policymakers are wary of jeopardising the recovery.
However, he stated that the fact that they opted against taking "immediate policy reaction" after clear evidence that business confidence had weakened emerged shows they are not panicking.
"We hope the UK economy will be on a firmer footing by next year, when a lower inflation rate will bring some relief for households," the expert added.
08/09/2011 16:11
News category: Consumer