Poll: Bank to cut interest rates
The Bank of England will cut interest rates this week, a new poll has predicted.
In a survey of 63 economists conducted by news agency Reuters, 48 predicted a reduction of 0.25 per cent from the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee.
This would bring the base rate down to five per cent - an overall reduction of 0.75 per cent since the beginning of the credit crunch last summer.
Interest rate reductions are generally made to counter the threat of an economic slowdown - as the move encourages lenders to make repayments on loans cheaper.
In turn, this generally leads more people to borrow money, stimulating the economy.
The release of the new services PMI survey this week, which found growth slowing in the UK much more quickly than expected, was cited by many of the experts polled as having "tipped the balance" for a rate cut.
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