With inflation expected to fall anyway, the British Retail Consortium has said today’s interest rate rise is premature and may turn out to be unnecessary.
 The consortium's director general Kevin Hawkins said it is 'bad news' for hard-pressed consumers.

"Customers' willingness to spend was already on the slide, shop prices are barely increasing and the Bank's own inflation report predicts a significant reduction in inflation in the second half of this year," he said.

He continued: "The MPC should have waited at least one more month to let the effects of the three recent rises work through before risking another one.

"We are concerned this increase will make life even tougher for consumers who are already heavily burdened with debt and higher living costs."