Bank of England holds interest rates and warns it's too early to cut

03 Nov 2023

The UK economy is likely to see zero growth until 2025, while interest rates remain high for longer or rise further, the Bank of England has warned.

It came as the Bank left rates on hold for the second time in a row at 5.25%, the highest level in 15 years.

Rishi Sunak has pledged to get the UK growing by the end of the year, but the lower forecasts put this in doubt.

Despite the subdued outlook, Bank boss Andrew Bailey said it was "much too early to be thinking about rate cuts".

However, the Bank expects inflation - the pace at which prices rise - to fall sharply in the coming months.

This means the prime minister is on track to meet his promise to halve inflation to about 5% by the end of the year.

Up until September, the Bank of England had raised rates 14 times in a row to tame soaring inflation, which has been squeezing household budgets.

It has led to increases in mortgage payments, squeezing borrowers, but also resulting in higher savings rates.

"We will keep interest rates high enough for long enough to make sure we get inflation all the way back to the 2% target," said Mr Bailey.

"We'll be watching closely to see if further rate increases are needed."

The most recent inflation figure was 6.7% in the year to September.

The Bank expects it to continue to fall as energy and food price rises ease and predicts that it will remain at around 3% throughout next year, above the 2% target.