Interest Rate Forecasts

The low interest rate environment the UK has experienced for over the past decade is set to remain, although rates are anticipated to rise. The consensus forecast, based on the expectations of 18 different city and non-city analysts, expects interest rates will nudge slightly higher over the final quarter of 2021, ending at 0.12%. The base rate of interest has been 1% or lower since February 2009 when rates were slashed in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis. Rates may well rise back to 1% in 2024. The cost of borrowing remaining low is positive news for the housing market and those with a mortgage. The current average mortgage rate is just 2.05%, a historic low (Bank of England). Source: Dataloft, consensus forecasts, August 2021