James Caldwell, director of Fair Investment Company was one such commentator, believing a cut would have been "very useful" at this point in time.
“On a £200,000 mortgage, even a reduction of just a quarter of a per cent would mean a saving of £30 a month, which would have a significant affect on the average family’s monthly finances," he said.
However most of those speaking out against the decision to maintain rates have conceded that erring on the side of caution when taking the current financial turbulence into consideration is a sensible move.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders has said that it "hopes for and anticipates a cut in November". Michael Coogan, the CML's director general added that even though borrowers are facing far tighter criteria when it comes to taking out a mortgage, the availability of funding "does seem to be improving."
Robert Bryant-Pearson, chief executive of Allied Surveyors, spoke firmly of the course of action the MPC now needs to take: “This is a lost opportunity demonstrating a reactionary lack of imagination. It is essential to restore confidence to households and to ease the path for first time buyers and existing homeowners who are having to service expensive mortgages.
"A decrease of 0.25 per cent would have sent a positive signal which would prevent an untimely reduction in consumer spending and a host of property repossessions over the winter.”
All critics, both for and against the rate freeze, have agreed that 5.75 per cent is undoubtedly the peak for interest rates due to the turbulence in the current markets, and that any future movement - whenever this takes place - will be downwards.
Henk Potts, equity strategist at Barclays Stockbrokers concluded: “The key to future interest rate movements will be November’s Inflation Report; the consumer price index is now below the Bank of England’s target, but should return to target in the medium term. That is why we think the Bank’s rates will stay on hold until the end of the year with some rate cuts likely towards the end of the first half of 2008.”
