Bank Rate held for third year in a row

The MPC also decided against an increase to its quantitative easing programme.

QE is the Bank’s scheme to boost the economy by buying bonds. Last month the bank boosted spending on it by £50bn, taking the total stimulus to £325bn.

In last month’s MPC minutes it was revealed that market participants expected the Bank Base Rate to remain unchanged for around another two years.

Ben Thompson, managing director of Legal & General mortgage club said: “Many borrowers have been slightly confused in the last week having received notifications of increases to their Standard Variable Rates, which more typically happens when Base Rate rises.

“Those changes were of course for different reasons and Base Rate is certainly not on the up. Market wobbles still exist in terms of the eurozone and although we have seen some positive news in the economy since Christmas, it is way too early to claim sight of anything resembling green shoots yet.

“The Bank of England will carry on with stimulative policy for many more months to come until we are demonstrably clear that the UK is out of the woods.”