The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee had previously raised rates at each of the last 14 meetings.
The Bank of England chose not to heap more pressure on mortgage holders on Thursday as it kept its interest rate unchanged for the first time in almost two years.
In a close decision, policymakers said they had opted to keep the base rate, which influences how much families need to pay to borrow money, at 5.25%. They also downgraded the outlook for the economy.
Officials still left the door open to further rises in the future, promising to “take the decisions necessary” to return inflation to normal levels.
It is the first time since November 2021 that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has met without deciding to raise interest rates.
Since then, the base rate was increased in 14 consecutive meetings, taking it from 0.1% to 5.25% as the Bank attempted to put a lid on runaway inflation.
Many had expected this week’s meeting to bring the 15th straight rise, and it almost did. Four of the nine-person MPC voted to raise rates to 5.5%.
The MPC also downgraded its forecast for the UK’s economy on Thursday. It now expects gross domestic product (GDP) to rise just 0.1% in the third quarter of this year, compared with the 0.4% rise it forecast in August.
