The Bank rejected accusations that it had gone too far and was "overcorrecting" for the inflation crisis after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to hike the base interest rate from 4.25 per cent to 4.5 per cent. The central bank warned inflation is set to decline less rapidly this year than hoped because food price hikes have gone on longer than expected, partly due to the Ukraine war and poor harvests in Europe.
However, despite ongoing cost of living pressures and mortgage payment pain, the Bank offered a more optimistic forecast for the wider economy - predicting Britain would avoid recession in the year ahead. Labour said Rishi Sunak should take the blame for "the Tory mortgage penalty", saying Britons coming off fixedrate mortgages will be "wracked with anxiety" about paying hundreds of pounds more a month.
Homeowners whose mortgages directly track the base rate face an average annual hike of around £5,000 as a result of the 12th hike in a row, according to UK Finance. The body warned that the average tracker payment had increased £420 a month since the base rate hikes began.
Offering a sunnier outlook for growth, the Bank now expects that I gross domestic product (GDP) will not fall during any quarter this year. Governor Andrew Bailey warned that economic growth is "still weak", but said the economy is being more "resilient" than expected.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 12, 2023-Ausgabe von The Independent.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 12, 2023-Ausgabe von The Independent.
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