Bank of England holds interest rates at 4% – what it means for mortgages and savings

The Bank of England has decided to hold interest rates at their current level of 4 per cent.

Economists widely expected the base rate, which has a large bearing on mortgage costs and savings interest for consumers, to be kept the same.

But there was not a consensus – with five of the nine economists on the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC ) voting to cut rates.

Interest rates were last cut by the MPC from 4.25 per cent back in August.

The base rate reached its peak of 5.25 per cent in August 2023 in response to high inflation and has been reduced five times since then.

What will happen to inflation?

Experts broadly expect inflation to remain well above the 2 per cent target for the rest of the year.

The Bank has forecast that it will fall back to 2.5 per cent in 2026