Bank of England base rate kept on hold for another month

by Aaron Strutt

Aug 07 2014

The Bank of England base rate has been kept on hold at the record low of 0.5% for another month and quantitative easing remains at £375bn.

According to research from the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association, around 36% of mortgage brokers expect the Monetary Policy Committee to vote for an increase before the end of 2014, while 44% of lenders believe a rate rise will come in the first three months of 2015.

David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, told the BBC that he thinks a rate rise over the coming months would damage economic growth.

He was quoted as saying: "The current calls for higher rates, particularly while wage pressures are still weak, are unjustified. The rise in sterling over the past year has put pressure on UK exporters, and is equivalent to a tightening in monetary policy.”