Nearly half of Britons expect interest rates to rise over next year, according to the latest survey from the Bank of England (BoE).
Some 44% of Britons said they anticipated the BoE to hike interest rates again over the next 12 months from the current 15-year high of 5.25%. Despite the gloomy expectation, it is down 63% in August.
Meanwhile, 29% of those surveyed said they expected rates to stay about the same over 2024, up from 19% in August.
Asked what would be “best for the economy”, some 40% thought that interest rates should “go down” while 29% thought interest rates should “stay where they are”.
Read more: Interest rates to remain high amid uncertain outlook for inflation, warns Bailey
Only 11% of respondents thought interest rates should “go up”.
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey warned earlier this week that interest rates are likely to need to remain around current levels even as the full impact of the hikes is yet to filter through to UK households and smaller businesses.
The survey also found that consumers expect prices to rise by 3.3% over the next 12 months, the lowest predicted inflation rate in two years. It is down from 3.6% when the survey was last conducted in August.
Read more: Interest rates blamed for plunging property transactions as UK housing market cools
Surprisingly, people also believe inflation is higher than it. Asked to give the current rate of inflation, most answers tended towards 7.5%. Inflation was 4.6% in October, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Dissatisfaction with the Bank of England has also fallen. Some 21% declared themselves satisfied, slightly higher than three months ago. Those saying they are dissatisfied with the work at Threadneedle Street fell to 34% from a record 40% in August.
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