Interest Rates to Stay Low for the next 3 Years??

Interest rates will be kept on hold at 0.5% until the end of 2013, predicts leading economist Ernst & Young.

It says high energy prices and the increases in VAT will keep CPI inflation above target over the next 18 months, but it will then move well below 2% as these effects wear off and spare capacity bears down on pricing decisions and wage bargaining.
To prevent CPI inflation moving below 1% it says it will be necessary to keep the Bank base rate low at 0.5% for much longer than the markets have anticipated

The Ernst & Young ITEM Club forecasts that the base rate will remain on hold until the end of 2013, although this is dependent on the assumption that the impending spending cuts actually come through.

Peter Spencer, chief economic advisor to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, says: “A base rate of 0.5% will begin to look like the new normal.” He says the fiscal tightening implemented by the new coalition should not choke off the recovery, but it will slow UK economic growth over the next two years.

The chancellor’s five-year plan to cut the deficit while keeping the pace of the economic recovery is very ambitious.

But ITEM Club believes that in the long term it will lead to more sustainable high-quality growth from 2013 because it will be led by business investment and exports, rather than public spending.

Spencer says: “On the assumption that the government is able to implement the overall reduction of £40bn it set out in the budget, we expect that UK growth will struggle to reach 1% this year but will gradually speed up in the following years to give the UK a high-quality recovery based on trade and investment.”

Leeds Building Society reduces fixed-rate mortgage

Leeds Building Society has reduced the rate of its two-year fixed-rate buy-to-let mortgage, which is available from only 4.89 per cent.

The mortgage product features a fixed fee and allows ten per cent capital repayments each year, while it does not carry a penalty and there is no higher lending charge.

Kim Rebecchi, sales and marketing director, commented: "We have delivered certainty and peace of mind, not only in terms of a fixed monthly payment, but also with fixed fees of only £999.

"Clearly, this is of significant benefit to those landlords looking to budget and manage their portfolio."

Meanwhile, Skipton Building Society recently expanded its mortgage range with a two-year fixed-rate product at just 2.99 per cent.

The new Limited Edition 2-Year Fix is available at up to 60 per cent loan-to-value .

According to the society, this limited edition product forms part of their plan to gradually increase lending during the course of 2010.