Today's decision to keep the base rate at 5.5 per cent will cost UK mortgage holders £105 million per month, it has been claimed.

Following the Bank of England's announcement, independent mortgage broker John Charcol reported that the monetary policy committee need to look beyond the short-term inflationary outlook and not delay in cutting rates.

However, Ray Boulger of John Charcol claimed that borrowers can still get a good deal on fixed-rate mortgages, due to a recent fall in swap rates.

"Borrowers who prefer a fixed-rate mortgage should see lower rates soon, although so far few lenders have reduced their fixed rates to reflect these lower money market rates," he explained.

Mr Boulger also advised tracker mortgages as they "make sense" at this stage of the market cycle.

The Bank of England's decision to cut rates by 0.25 per cent in December was the first reduction since August 2005.

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