A growing number of people think that an interest rate cut would benefit the economy, according to the Bank of England’s quarterly survey on inflation.
A total of 42% of respondents said a decrease in interest rates would be best for the economy. This is marginally higher number than the 41 per cent of respondents who gave this response in February.
Correspondingly the number of people who thought keeping rates on hold would be best for the economy reduced slightly — from 25% in February to 24% in May. The proportion of people who thought a rate increase would benefit the economy stayed the same at 10%.
The base rate has remained at a 16-year high of 5.25% since last August. The last time the central bank cut rates was in March 2020.
When asked about the future path of interest rates, 34% of respondents expected rates to rise over the next 12 months, down from 36% in February 2024. A total of 25% said of respondents said they expected rates to stay ‘about the same’ over the next twelve months.
More than six out of 10 respondents (64%) said they had seen interest rates increase over the past 12 months on mortgages, loans or savings accounts. However this was down on the previous quarter where 69% reported they had personally experienced a rate increase on these financial products.
