Are you ready for Super Thursday?
Until now, when the Bank of England announced the latest base rate, we’d have to wait a full two weeks before minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) were released, letting us know the rationale behind the decision-making. Today, Thursday 6thAugust, sees the first UK ‘Super Thursday’ in UK economics take place where the data will be released at exactly the same time. This will be repeated every three months. The data that will be released on Super Thursday includes:
- A decision on interest rate levels in the UK
- The minutes of the MPC- crucially the voting decisions that made the final decision
- The Bank’s quarterly Inflation Report
Mark Carney, the Bank of England governor, says that by bringing these three announcements together it will “enhance our transparency and make us more accountable to the British people”. It is thought that the base rate will remain at 0.5% in August, however we are likely to see a few members of the committee voting for a rise to 0.75%. With rumours abound that this rise will happen by the end of year, today’s Super Thursday could mark the beginning of the end of rock-bottom interest-rates for home-buyers.