Bank of England's interest rate decision 'uncertain'

05-Apr-2007

In news which may be of interest to first time home buyers uncertain about future interest rates, experts are divided over what the Bank of England's noon decision will be.

According to the Financial Times, sentiment is close to being "evenly" split, with economists now preferring to remain cautious about whether rates will today increase, which may not provide much comfort to first time home buyers anxiously awaiting the decision of the bank's monetary policy committee (MPC).

However, according to the BBC a majority of market analysts hold the opinion that interest rates will remain static at 5.25 per cent.

"Although the risk of an early move this Thursday is serious, the Bank of England is a bit more likely to wait until May," said Holger Schmieding, an economist at Bank of America.

Despite this sentiment however, according to Alan Castle from Lehman Brothers, the MPC will today increase interest rates to 5.5 per cent by a slim majority.

To find out about the different ways of financing a first home, see our section ‘Affording Your First Home’.

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