Britain’s inflation rate remained at 8.7% in figures released yesterday. It means that when the Bank of England announces its interest rate decision at noon today, it will almost certainly raise the base rate from the current level of 4.5%.
As our economics correspondent Richard Partington tells Nosheen Iqbal, this rise will pile further pain on to mortgage holders, who are already smarting from successive interest rate rises. Many took on large debts to buy homes during an era of record-low borrowing costs and are now facing monthly bills hundreds of pounds higher than they budgeted for. It comes at a time when utility bills are pinching hard and food prices are at record highs.
Could the government intervene to help? It’s unlikely, says Richard. Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt’s priority is tackling inflation – and one way to know their plans are working is if people are hurting.
Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA
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