Bradford & Bingley comment on interest rates freeze

The Bank of England has today announced that it will hold base rate at 4.75 per cent for the remainder of the year.

This is the fourth successive month that the Bank has held interest rates, after a period that saw rates rise five times in ten months to a three-year high.

The overwhelming majority of commentators predicted that the rate of borrowing would be held by the Monetary Policy Committee, but are split on where things will go next year.

David Bitner, head of product operations at Bradford & Bingley, comments on today's MPC decision: "It was universally expected that the MPC would keep Base Rate at 4.75 per cent. Despite mixed house price indices, all point to a deceleration in the rate of house price inflation and there is real evidence that the Bank of England's strategy for cooling the housing market is working.

"While the debate continues as to whether or not Base Rate has reached its peak in this interest rate cycle, we believe that it has and also think there is potential for Base Rate to fall in the second quarter of next year."