"The stubborn nature of inflation is clearly still too much of a worry for the Bank of England to halt its rate-rising agenda"

Andrew Gething, managing director at MorganAsh:

“Although the UK economy is showing its fair share of positive indicators, the stubborn nature of inflation is clearly still too much of a worry for the Bank of England to halt its rate-rising agenda.

“While many forecasters suggest that we could be getting close to the peak, today’s news demonstrates that a future pause certainly isn’t guaranteed in the current environment.

“While those with fixed-rate mortgages are shielded from this outcome, it will once again be those with either tracker or variable-rate mortgages that take the biggest hit.”

“With less than 90 days to go until the start of Consumer Duty, identifying and monitoring those vulnerable customers should already be high on the agenda for firms.

“Financial stresses will form just one part of a much wider scope of vulnerability that firms will be expected to consider.”