The Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) has voted to leave interest rates unchanged at 4.75 per cent. The announcement was in line with most analyst predictions following a slowdown in house price inflation and consumer spending.

Homeowners will welcome the move, which follows five quarter point rises in the cost of borrowing since last November. It would appear that the MPC has succeeded in reining in economic growth and may now leave the rate at its current level for the rest of the year.

The decision to leave rates unchanged will also come as good news for the manufacturing sector, which has seen its recovery stall in recent months. Figures from the Office of National Statistics this week showed that factory output fell during August for the third consecutive month.

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