Time for a recap.

UK borrowers continue to be hit by rising interest rates as the fight against inflation continues, and there may be more pain ahead.

Average two-year mortgage rate have risen over their peak last autumn, averaging 6.66% today for the first time in 15 years.

UK two-year fixed mortgage rates hit highest level since 2008Read more

MPs have heard that rising mortgage rates are causing financial stress to customers, and that the situation will worsen. However, lenders also reported that they have not seen a significant pick-up in arrears yet.

Bradley Fordham, mortgage director at Santander UK, told the Treasury Committee the bank had seen a “small tick up in arrears, still 20% below pre-pandemic, 70% below 2009 post-financial crisis, so relatively low levels”.

He said mortgage customers coming off deals and going onto new ones were seeing payment increases of “over £200 per month”.

But, the UK could be approaching a ‘tipping point’ where mortgage rates rise to levels where borrowers cannot fully protect themselves by extending the terms of their loans or moving to interest-only deals.

The International Monetary Fund warned that UK interest rates may need to keep rates higher for longer, to fight inflation.

The financial markets are anticipating that UK interest rates will hit 6% by November, up from 5% at present.

The latest labour market report has shown that UK wages increased at a faster rate than expected in May.

Earnings growth hit 7.3% in the three months to May compared with a year earlier, driven by the strongest rise in private sector pay growth outside the pandemic period of 7.7%, the Office for National Statistics said. It was the joint highest since modern records began in 2001.

Record UK pay growth adds to pressure for interest rate riseRead more

And with unemployment rising, number of job vacancies down, jobs growth slowing and more people looking for work, there are signs that the UK labour market is starting to slow.

UK interest rates likely to rise again despite slowing labour marketRead more

And in other news…

Britain’s debt-laden “zombie” companies are expected to be wiped out by the surge in interest rates, an insolvency specialist has predicted.

UK’s ‘zombie’ firms will be wiped out by interest rates, says insolvency specialistRead more

Britain’s retailers recorded a sharp rise in spending in June as hot weather prompted consumers to buy summer clothing and outdoor goods, despite growing pressure on budgets from the cost of living crisis.

UK retailers report sizzling sales in hot June weatherRead more

Morrissey has written to Jet2holidays urging the tour operator to drop its association with marine parks that continue to use captive orcas and dolphins for entertainment.

Morrissey: Jet2holidays must cut ties to marine parks over orcas and dolphinsRead more

https://t.co/FFaoEzL7Ky pic.twitter.com/EsaH4hzcWk

— TRADING ECONOMICS (@tEconomics) July 11, 2023