The largest building society in the nation reduced the interest rates on many of its fixed-rate mortgage products and added discounts to some of its tracker programs as well.
Although the reduction was not significant, Ashley Thomas, director of mortgage broker Magni Finance in the City, highlighted that it is the most recent in a string of rate cuts, with all of the leading lenders lowering rates at least three times over the previous six weeks.
According to Thomas, a lot of lenders are currently lowering their rates. “I predict that this trend will continue, and most people will be hoping that it signals the beginning of a pricing war. If rates continue to decline, a lot will depend on the upcoming set of inflation data.
Huw Pill, chief economist of the Bank of England, discussed potential future directions for the bank’s interest rates this morning at a conference in South Africa. He declared that he preferred a “table mountain” vision, in which rates may not suddenly spike to a high level but instead remain high for a considerable period of time.
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This, he claimed, “imposes fewer risks to financial stability” because many experts have warned that the bank’s rate increases are likely to push the UK into a recession this year or the year after.
Due to this, City traders now predict that the Bank rate would peak at 5.75 percent rather than 6% as they had previously predicted. Markets still expect the Bank to raise rates at its upcoming meeting on September 21; however, after previously viewing a rise as inevitable, the Bank now feels there is a one-in-four probability of a delay.
Today’s typical five-year fixed home mortgage rate is 6.20%, down from yesterday’s typical rate of 6.21%, according to Moneyfacts.