Interest rates put on hold

Thursday 7th August 2008, 11:50AM BST.

Homeowners struggling through the credit crisis were given no relief today when the Bank of England held interest rates at five per cent for the fourth month in a row.

The decision by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee is likely to have been one of the toughest in recent times, with members having to balance deeper economic gloom with expectations of rising inflation.

Most economists believe rates will remain on hold for the rest of the year, although a rate rise cannot be ruled out with inflation predicted to hit five per cent this autumn, pushed higher by the latest round of gas and electricity tariff increases.

Read the full story in today’s Shropshire Star

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