Interest rise
As expected, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England raised the base rate from 5.25% to 5.50%. This was no surprise, and there are strong hints that a further rise is on the way.
There are 11.7 million mortgage borrowers in the UK, of whom just over half have variable rate mortgages, and who are now facing higher monthly payments as a result.
Those on fixed term, fixed rate mortagages are exempt for a while at least, but they are only deferring the bad news until it’s remortgage time. It’s unclear how much affect this will have on the inflation rate, but what is clear is that more homeowners will be facing financial difficulties as a result.