Interest rates stick at 5.25 per cent
Published On 5 April 2007
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has announced that interest rates will remain unchanged this month.After a vote earlier today (April 5th), the MPC agreed to maintain the official Bank Rate of interest at 5.25 per cent.
The decision came after the MPC had previously decided to keep interest rates unchanged in both March and February, after a surprise rise of 0.25 per cent in January.
"The MPC has decided to wait and see this month, which is wise, if a little predictable," said Trevor Williams, the chief economist at Lloyds TSB.
"It can take some time, often years, to see the full effect of a single interest rate rise, so holding on gives a chance for the impact of past rate increases to start showing through."
Mr Williams added that it was "hard to see the MPC waiting too much longer before another hike".
"Inflation is still a concern, having risen slowly last month, and the economy is still enjoying a period of growth - with house prices and consumer spending still rising," he added.
Similarly, Ian Kernohan, an economist with Royal London Asset Management, said that the decision was likely to be only a "postponement of a move next month".
