The decision in favor of a 13th consecutive hike takes the main borrowing cost for commercial banks in the United Kingdom to 5%, the highest since April 2008. Financial markets now expect the Bank of England’s benchmark interest rate to reach 6% around the turn of the year — a level not seen in two decades — in the ever more desperate battle to control rising prices.
Those aged 30-39 will pay almost £360 more. The number of households feeling that squeeze is only going to grow. Some 800,000 fixed-rate mortgages are due to expire in the second half of the year, according to UK Finance. Another 1.6 million mortgages will need to be refinanced next year, and at significantly higher rates.