Mortgages -
Economists predict further rate cuts - 10/12/2007
|
The Bank of England is likely to make further interest rate cuts in the New Year, analysts have stated.
A poll of economic experts from news agency Reuters shows that 55 of 62 believe that rates will be further cut in the first three months of 2008.
The Bank cut rates by 0.25 per cent to 5.5 per cent last Thursday, in the face of economic slowdown fears.
With the credit crunch ongoing, the analysts polled by Reuters predict deeper cuts to come in a bid to maintain growth by making borrowing for personal loans and mortgages cheaper.
In fact, two in three economists asked predicted an interest rate of five per cent or less by the middle of next year.
KPMG chief economist Andrew Smith, one of those polled by the news agency, said: "It's very much a case of they've started so they'll finish.
"We are clearly in a down-cycle on interest rates and it is only a matter of time until they cut significantly more."
The Bank's rate-cutting decision mirrors events earlier this year at the US Federal Reserve - the body responsible for interest rates in the world's largest economy.
A total of 0.75 per cent has been cut from the rate by the organisation since the credit crunch began earlier this summer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|