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NewsExpert: Consumers unlikely to see base rate rise until Q3
Expert: Consumers unlikely to see base rate rise until Q3
Posted by Craig Williams
Consumers in the UK are unlikely to witness an increase in the country's base interest rate in the near future.
That is according to Jeremy Cook, chief economist at exchange brokering firm World First, who has said that the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will not change the rate from its current level of 0.5 per cent throughout the first half of the year.
Mr Cook noted that despite the fact that the MPC is "definitely" feeling the pressure to raise the rate - which has remained static since March 2009 in order to help the UK to recover following the recession - it will not do so until the third quarter of the year.
"They will hold off until Q3 in order to avoid snuffing out the economic recovery," he stated.
He went on to explain that this is because they are wary of implementing such a change before the effects of the government's austerity measures are fully felt.
09/02/2011 15:17
News category: Consumer