LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England on Thursday paused nearly two years of interest rate increases after a surprising fall in U.K. inflation eased concerns about the pace of price rises.
In a development that few predicted just two days ago, the central bank kept its main interest rate unchanged at a 15-year high of 5.25%. It comes to the relief of millions of homeowners who are facing higher mortgage rates.
Four of the nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted for a hike. The five who voted to keep rates on hold said inflation had been “lower than had been expected” but that the decision was “finely balanced,” according to minutes from the meeting. “Monetary policy would need to be sufficiently restrictive for sufficiently long to return inflation to the 2% target,” the bank said. “Further tightening in monetary policy would be required if there were evidence of more persistent inflationary pressures.”
And because there is a lag between actual rate hikes and mortgage rates, lots of homeowners and renters have yet to see increases in their housing costs.
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