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Interest rate held

Interest rate held

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The Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) has voted to hold the base rate of interest at five per cent for the month of May.

This follows last month's decision to make a quarter-point cut to the interest rate.

A hold decision was widely expected, with an Adfero poll of economists all agreeing that this was the most likely outcome of this month's two-day meeting by the MPC.

Furthermore, Simon Ward of New Star Asset Management stated yesterday that a cut was possible, but not likely.

"My MPC-ometer suggests a 6-3 vote for unchanged rates this week," he predicted.

The publication of the minutes of the MPC meeting on May 21st will indicate whether Mr Ward's forecast is in fact true.

Previous quarter-point cuts were made by the MPC in February and December, with the Bank rarely changing the base rate in two consecutive months.

Any further reductions to the base rate could mean that some homeowners' monthly mortgage repayments become cheaper.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

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