Bank cuts rates to 5.5%

The news will come as a relief to homeowners and other borrowers, who have seen a succession of rate rises, which have pushed up their monthly repayments. There will also be celebration among retailers, who were expecting a relatively slow Christmas period as consumers would have to put more money towards paying their mortgage and credit card payments than on festive spending. In recent weeks, many business and market commentators have called on the Bank to cut interest rates to prevent a possible recession. Minutes from the MPC’s last meeting revealed the Bank saw an economic need for l...