Britain’s inflation rate remained at 8.7% in figures released yesterday. This means that when the Bank of England announces its interest rate decision at noon today, it will almost certainly raise the base rate from its current level of 4.5%.
As our economics correspondent Richard Partington SPEAKING Nosheen Iqbal, this increase will add to the pain of mortgage holders, who have already realized from a series of interest rate hikes. Many took out huge loans to buy homes at a time of record low borrowing costs and are now facing monthly bills hundreds of pounds higher than they budgeted for. This comes at a time when utility bills are tight and food prices are at record highs.
Can the government step in to help? Not possible, said Richard. Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt’s priority is tackling inflation – and a way to know their plans are working is when people are hurt.
Photo: Andrew Matthews/PA
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