HSBC and Nationwide led the way last week in reducing their standard rate for floating rate mortgages as interest rates stabilized. However, the rate for a two-fixed loan was still higher than it was at the start of the month. The peak was at 6.89% earlier.

The pressure on the Monetary Policy Committee is expected over the next year as inflation begins to fall, but in the short term, it is expected that there will be another seventy-five basis points of hikes before a pause is announced.

During the prolonged period over which the Bank of England has continued its cycle of rate hikes, its Governor, Andrew Bailey, has faced criticism for ignoring the signs, which, with hindsight, has proven to be fairly obvious that inflation was rising, close to out of control.

The belief is that if the Central Bank had been more aggressive in its hikes at the start of the cycle, that may not have had to be still hiking now.

To defuse that criticism, it has decided to commission a review of its economic forecasting. The man chosen to lead that review is Ben Bernanke, a former Chair of the Federal Reserve.

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