Interest rate 'likely to drop'

A poll of financial institutions recently suggested that the majority of lenders believe that the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) will elect to cut the base rate of interest in its meeting next week.

In news that may be of interest to those looking to buy or sell a house in Scotland, the common belief is that the MPC will slash the rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 5.25 per cent.

Howard Archer, UK chief economist at Global Insight, stated: "We expect the Bank to trim interest rates by 25 basis points to 5.25 per cent next Thursday."

Ross Walker, economist at the Royal Bank of Scotland, stated that a drop of 25 basis points is a "near-certainty".

Lloyds TSB economist Kenneth Broux stated that economic conditions have been "a little bit restrictive" at 5.5 per cent.

In other news that may interest those looking to sell or buy a house in Scotland, recent data from Nationwide suggested that house prices fell by 0.1 per cent in January.