The Bank of England's latest decision to maintain the base rate at 0.5 per cent is unlikely to be of much comfort to people looking for a competitive interest rate on a savings account.
The MPC also voted to maintain quantitative easing at £200 billion.
According to figures from the Bank, savers have missed out on around £43 billion due to the low interest rates maintained for so long. However, those looking to borrow money through mortgages and other loans have actually gained £51 billion.
But as the latest data shows that the economy grew by just 0.2 per cent between April and June – down from 0.5 per cent in the first three months of the year – an increasing number of people are calling for the Bank to take action to boost the economy.
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research suggested that any further decline in growth could prompt the MPC to change its tactics.
“The UK continues to experience weak economic growth,” stated the think-tank.
“But even this poor rate of growth is flattered by the drop in output in April. If this economic weakness persists over the next few months, the MPC will probably implement a further round of quantitative easing.”
