Bank Of England

Interest rates are now unlikely to be raised before the second quarter of 2016, economists have said following the Bank of England latest economic report.

Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, had previously identified Q2 as the likely time to raise interest rates. But various economists and analysts had predicted it would come sooner.

Now, the Bank of England says "the outlook for global growth has weakened since August", which poses a greater risk of falling inflation. And various economists now believe we could be waiting until at least the third quarter of 2016.

The Bank blamed slowing growth in emerging economies for the overall weaker outlook.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which sets interest rates, again voted 8-1 in favour of keeping rates at 0.5% where they have been for more than six-and-a-half years.

Whilst weaker growth is increasing the risk of deflation, Mr Carney said the Bank is still confident of hitting its 2% target within the next two years.