HSBC is set to become the first lender to cut interest rates on its fixed-rate mortgage products after better than expected inflation figures.
Following a story in the Daily Telegraph, the bank confirmed to GB News that it will be cutting lending rates tonight at midnight, potentially bringing rates under the psychologically important 6 per cent mark
It comes after figures last weekend showed inflation is at a 16-month low in the year to June.
A five-year mortgage deal has a rate of 6.04 per cent, according to HSBC’s website.
The news comes after the International Monetary Fund upgraded its economic forecasts for the UK.
It is now predicting that the economy will grow by 0.4 per cent, which is a big change from the 0.3 per cent contraction it forecast in April.
It means that the British economy is expected to outpace Germany, where the IMF expects the economy to shrink by 0.3 per cent.
The bank praised the Windsor Framework agreement announced in February, which it said had helped trade between Northern Ireland and the mainland and eased post-Brexit uncertainties.
It warned, however, that major economies will struggle to contain inflation and growth in living standards may never return to those seen in the past.
