The ‘Will they? Won’t they?’ question has been answered, at least for now - Comment on the Monetary Policy Committee minutes and interest rate decision from Richard Pike at Phoebus Software

04 November 2021

Richard Pike, Phoebus Software sales and marketing director, says “Now we know the result of this week’s vote the ‘Will they? Won’t they?’ question has been answered, at least for now. Reason dictates that the Bank of England has to take a cautious view on the situation as the economy picks up and business in the UK starts to flourish again. However, it is reasonable to expect that this is a temporary respite, interest rates will rise and we all need to be prepared for it.

“Borrowers on fixed-rate mortgages are safe in the knowledge that they are protected from a rise in interest rates, but there are still many people on variable rate mortgages that should be preparing for the first interest rate rise in three years. A small rise to .25%, predicted by many, may not be huge, but it is likely to be the start of things to come. As the Bank of England tries to bring inflation in line with government targets it is inevitable that the MPC’s current stance will have to change. It’s just a matter of time.”