Interest rates held – but a small early interest rate cut could be on the cards to help borrowers

Andrew Bailey says Britain is ‘on the way’ to interest rate cuts... but how soon? James Moore reads the runes from the Bank of England’s latest policy meeting

Will spring flowers bloom for borrowers in May? (Reuters)

Is there light at the end of the tunnel for Britain’s borrowers, who have endured an extended spell of high interest rates?

For the fifth consecutive time, members of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep rate at 5.25 per cent. They had their fingers burned by last year’s double-digit inflation, and their concerns about persistent price pressures were all over the notes from this latest meeting.

Governor Andrew Bailey gave his strongest hint yet that “we are on the way” to rate cuts but that “further progress” is needed on inflation.