Several UK lenders have announced increases to mortgage rates as speculation over when the Bank of England will cut base interest remains skewed.
NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG), Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC) and HSBC Holdings PLC (LSE:HSBA) all announced mortgage increases from Tuesday as a result, anticipating rate cuts to come later than initially thought.
NatWest said rates on selected two and five-year switcher deals would increase by 0.1%, while Barclays opted to lift interest by as much as 0.2% in its second hike in a week.
HSBC added rates would increase but did not specify how much by, with lenders including Leeds Building Society and The Co-operative Bank PLC also hiking offers.
According to Moneyfacts, average two-year fixed mortgage rates sat at 5.82% on Monday, falling to 5.40% on typical five-year deals.
Rates have fluctuated in recent months, with the latest increases coming despite growing optimism on Monday the Bank of England could begin cutting base interest from August.
This pricing in of two 0.25% cuts to base rates this year came after analysts had scaled back anticipations for reductions just last week, following figures showing higher-than-expected inflation in March.
“With lower expectations for base rate cuts, the cost of oil and imports escalating, this is going to be a difficult few months for borrowers and home buyers to navigate,” EHF Mortgages managing director Justin Moy commented.
“Inflation is not the only factor when setting rates as we know, but the influence of worldwide issues has rapidly influenced recent swap rates.”