UK Interest Rate: 5.25%

UK Interest Rates Forecast: Further 0.25% rise likely in April or May

5.5pc in April or May?

A new Reuters poll of 50 leading economists has found that 39 of 50 economists polled expect an interest rate rise to 5.5 per cent by June – up 10 per cent from the results of last month's survey.

The poll also found that most economists expect interest rates to peak at 5.5 per cent, probably remaining at that level for the rest of 2007.

Ross Walker of RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland), commented that "We will probably still see one more hike", believing that high wage settlements and inflation would drive the Bank of England's next decision on rates.

Homebuyers Expecting Continued Rises

Some building societies have had to suspend some of their fixed rate mortgage deals in recent weeks, due to a huge increase in demand for these packages from home buyers fearful of continued interest rate rises.

New figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that a massive 85 per cent of first time buyers chose to take a fixed rate mortgage in January, reflecting their concerns over rising interest rates, and perhaps providing an indicator of how tightly buyers' budgets are being stretched by current house price levels.

70 per cent of buyers moving house also stayed with or moved to a fixed rate deal, showing that it is not just first time buyers who are affected by the current level of interest rates.

On a related subject, a quarterly Bank of England survey showed that the public also expected inflation levels to remain high in coming months, a factor which is directly related to interest rate decisions.