Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, is understood to fear that domestically generated inflation is higher than expected even as global factors, including international gas prices, have started to ease.
Mortgage prisoners, estimated to number 200,000 by the London School of Economics, will be particularly vulnerable to further rises in the base rate, as they cannot remortgage. The Office for Budget Responsibility has forecast that inflation will fall below 3 per cent by the end of this year. If you are in position to pay off your debts, it would be worth doing so before higher interest rates send them soaring. Check online for the best options, but among the products available is from NatWest which offers zero per cent for 19 months.