Interest rates stay unchanged
13 April 2012
Homeowners were today given a reprieve from higher mortgage repayments for the third month in a row.
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) opted to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.75% - a move widely expected by the City amid signs that the economy is slowing down.
Inflation is at its lowest level since March and the property boom appears to have stalled in the wake of five rate rises since last November.
Economists think that interest rates are now near their peak with possibly one more rise early next year - if at all.
Today's MPC meeting will have taken into account the Bank's quarterly inflation report, which is due to be released next week, and is likely to have acknowledged the slowdown in economic activity.
