The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has once again voted to maintain interest rates at 0.5%.

It has also chosen to maintain the current levels of quantitative easing.

Chris Williams, CEO of Wealth Horizon, said: “We will have to wait and see what the meeting minutes report, but considering the current rate of inflation, it would come as a big surprise if this was not a unanimous vote in favour of keeping rates on hold. Two members voted for a hike in rates at the end of last year but since then the decision has been a no-brainer for the committee.

“We are seeing reports of an abrupt slow-down in growth and this has effectively put any thought of interest rate hikes on the back-burner.

“There is plenty of talk about the UK building a sustainable recovery, but the economy has cooled off considerably. More is needed in terms of wage growth and productivity growth, but with the new Government poised to impose more fiscal tightening, we are far from having a picture perfect return to fortune.”