The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 in favour of maintaining rates at their current level of 0.25%.

It’s now over a year since the MPC voted to reduce its Base Rate to its lowest ever level and 10 years since it last increased interest rates.

The Bank of England noted that, since it’s Inflation Report in August, a slightly stronger picture has emerged than it anticipated. GDP rose by 0.3% in the second quarter, and the unemployment rate has continued to decline, to 4.3%, its lowest level in over 40 years. 

It also said that headline and core CPI inflation in August were slightly higher than anticipated – 12-month CPI inflation rose to 2.9%. All MPC members continue to judge that, ‘if the economy follows a path broadly consistent with the August Inflation Report, monetary policy could need to be tightened’. 

In other words, rates could rise if inflation remains high.

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Ishaan Malhi, CEO and founder of online mortgage broker Trussle, said: “With the Bank of England once again choosing to hold interest rates at 0.25%, anyone with a mortgage should be thinking about how they can take advantage of the situation.

“Borrowers should check what level of interest they’re paying on their mortgage and whether they could save money by switching to one of the more competitive deals on the market.

“Switching mortgage can now be done on a mobile in a matter of minutes, whether that’s on the bus to work, or waiting for the kettle to boil, and could shave hundreds of pounds off the average household’s monthly outgoings.”