Friday 29th February 2008
A selection of economists from some of the countrys leading financial institutions are in agreement that there will be no change to the base rate in March.
Representatives from HSBC, Barclays Capital, Halifax, Lloyds TSB and the Royal Bank of Scotland all predict a rate fix in next weeks decision.
Economists from Capital Economics, Global Insight and the Centre for Economic and Business Research all concur with the forecast.
Howard Archer, chief European and UK economist at Global Insight, says: "Next weeks meeting of the monetary policy committee (MPC) is highly likely to prove too soon to yield the next 25 basis point interest rate cut."
The news follows words of caution from Paul Dales, UK economist at Capital Economics.
He recently warned that, without prompt action from the MPC, the base rate may need to drop as low as four per cent in order to bring the nations finances under control.
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