UK Interest Rate: 5.75%

UK Interest Rates Forecast: Increasingly likely that rates will not rise again this year

Big Lenders Increase Rates for All Borrowers

Following recent rises in sub-prime (bad credit) mortgage interest rates, many of the UK's largest mainstream lenders have also increased their variable and tracker interest rates.

This is a result of the rising cost of short-term credit for banks and building societies making it more expensive for them to fund their mortgage loans. Fixed mortgage rates have not yet been affected in the same way because lenders fund these loans differently.

Some of the biggest rate increases are for those seeking 95% and 100% mortgages - typically first-time buyers. As these mortgages have small or non-existent deposits, they are riskier for lenders and thus are becoming more expensive, faster.

Bank of England Base Rate Increasingly Unlikely to Reach 6%

While some analysts still believe that the Bank of England's base rate will reach 6% by the end of 2007, a growing number believe that the base rate has reached its peak at 5.75%.

This is partly due to the way that banks have dramatically increased the rates at which they lend to each other - making it unnecessary for the Bank of England to force these rates up by increasing the base rate.

In a statement to parliament this week, Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, said that the Bank was in "wait and see" mode and would not seek to cut rates without evidence of marked economic need. This approach would also seem to suggest that any further increases to the official interest rate are unlikely for the foreseeable future.

Global Insight chief economist Howard Archer believes a rate rise is now unlikely, saying that "This [King's statement] seems to remove any interest rate hike to 6 per cent off the agenda for the time being."