NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) and TSB Banking Group (LSE:TSB) are among lenders to have begun hiking mortgage rates again as the market prices in expectations that base rate cuts will come later in the year than initially hoped.
NatWest, TSB and Coventry Building Society were among lenders to hike mortgage rates on Friday, after Banco Santander (LSE:BNC) and Nationwide Building Society put up prices midweek.
According to comparison site Moneyfacts, such hikes led average two-year mortgage rates to climb from 5.59% on Tuesday to 5.69% by the week’s end.
This is after wage data earlier in the week led economists to anticipate that base rate cuts from the Bank of England may take longer than originally thought.
Subsequent data showed inflation climbed by 4% in January, further adding to speculation that cuts could now be in the more distant future.
NatWest raised prices by as much as 0.21%, with TSB increasing rates by up to 0.15%.
Santander had previously lifted fixed mortgage rates by 0.16%, as Nationwide said it would up prices by 0.25%.
According to Private Finance brokers, rates are set to remain volatile over the coming weeks, with data on Thursday revealing the UK fell into recession late last year.
The news comes as a survey by mortgage servicing platform Eligible AI revealed some half a million UK homeowners face missing mortgage payments in the next six months due to high-interest rates.
Around 4% of the 2,073 people surveyed said they feared missing payments in the coming months, translating to around half a million people when equated to the population.