Economists predict rates will stay on hold until 2012

A group of 55 economists believes the Monetary Policy Committee will maintain interest rates at 0.5% this week, as manufacturing and services surveys show the UK economy is slowing.

Economists are also concerned the country's economy is too weak for policy tightening, as severe government spending cuts start to bite, Bloomberg reports. Dutch bank ABN Amro has deferred its forecast, expecting the first rate hike to occur in 2012, despite inflation soaring to 4.5% last month, more than twice the Bank of England's target. Joost Beaumont, an economist at ABN Amro in Amsterdam, said: "The MPC will now wait until next year, when most of the fiscal consolidation measures have been implemented and the economy regains momentum." Meanwhile Barclays and J.P Morgan predic...