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By Kevin Peachey & Tom Espiner
BBC News
The Bank of England has held interest rates at 5.25% for the fourth time in a row, but cuts are expected later in the year.
Interest rates move up and down in order to control UK inflation, which has come down sharply in recent months, easing cost-of-living pressures.
However, the UK economy has been stagnating amid increased borrowing costs and other pressures.
Interest rates set by the Bank of England affect mortgage, credit card and savings rates for millions of people across the UK.
What are interest rates and why do they change?
The Bank of England's base rate, currently 5.25%, is what it charges other lenders to borrow money.
This has a knock-on effect on what other banks charge their customers for loans such as mortgages, as well as the interest they pay on savings.
The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee meets eight times a year to decide what the base rate should be.
It has a target to keep UK inflation at 2%. Inflation is the rate at which prices are rising across the economy as a whole.
When inflation is going up, the Bank may decide to raise rates to encourage people to spend less. The idea is that this helps bring inflation down by dampening demand.
Once this starts to happen, the Bank may hold rates, or cut them.
How do interest rates affect me?
Mortgages
Just under a third of households have a mortgage, according to the government's English Housing Survey.
When interest rates rise or fall, more than 1.4 million people on tracker and standard variable rate (SVR) deals usually see an immediate change in their monthly payments.
About three-quarters of mortgage customers have fixed-rate deals. Their monthly payments aren't immediately affected when the Bank changes rates, but future deals are.
Although mortgage rates have been lower recently, they are still much higher than they have been for much of the last decade.
This means homebuyers and those remortgaging will have to pay a lot more than if they had taken out the same mortgage a few years ago.
About 1.6 million deals will expire in 2024, according to banking trade body UK Finance.
You can see how your mortgage may be affected by interest rate changes by using our calculator:
- If you can't see the calculator, click here.
- What happens if I can't afford to pay my mortgage?
- Five ways to save money on your mortgage
Credit cards and loans
Bank of England interest rates also influence the amount charged on credit cards, bank loans and car loans.
Lenders could decide to put their rates up, if they expect higher interest rates from the Bank of England, but if rates fall, interest payments may get cheaper.
Image source, Getty Images
Savings
The Bank of England interest rate also affects how much savers can earn on their money.
Individual banks and building societies have been under pressure to pass on higher interest rates to customers.
There are some good deals on the market, so analysts say that customers should shop around, as money may be in accounts paying little or no interest.
The UK's financial watchdog warned banks will face "robust action" if they offer unjustifiably low savings rates to their customers.
When will UK interest rates go down?
The Bank rate is currently at its highest level for nearly 16 years.
However, the rate was higher than this for much of the 1980s and 1990s, and was running at 17% in November 1979.
After the latest meeting of policymakers, there were plenty of questions about why interest rates have not been cut, with the rate of inflation dropping sharply.
Inflation was running at 4% in January 2024. While that was down from a peak of 11.1% in October 2022, it is still twice the Bank's target.
Bank governor Andrew Bailey said it would wait for firm evidence that inflation was under control before it cuts rates.
The Bank has to balance the need to slow price rises against the risk of damaging the economy - which has shown little sign of growth - by keeping rates high.
- When will the Bank of England start to cut interest rates?
Are other countries raising their interest rates?
Interest rates have also been increasing across the world.
However, in recent months, other central banks - including the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank - have also paused their rate rises.
The UK has had one of the highest interest rates in the G7 - the group representing the world's seven largest so-called "advanced" economies.
- How will the UK economy compare to other countries in 2024?
Related Topics
- Savings
- Money
- Personal finance
- Cost of Living
- UK economy
- Bank of England
- Mortgages
