Mortgages rise again over fears that base rate cuts won’t happen

Lenders take fright as inflation remains stubbornly high
Four major lenders are planning to raise costs on some fixed-rate mortgage deals
Four major lenders are planning to raise costs on some fixed-rate mortgage deals
JOE GIDDENS/PA

Britain’s major lenders have started raising mortgage rates in response to speculation that the economy may not benefit from a dramatic cut to interest rates this year.

Barclays, HSBC, NatWest and Leeds Building Society are all set to increase costs on some fixed-rate mortgage deals on Tuesday after inflation figures suggested that the Bank of England may need to maintain higher interest rates for longer.

Barclays is increasing rates for the second time in seven days with the introduction of a 0.1 per cent increase across a number of mortgage products for both home buyers and borrowers looking to refinance.

NatWest is raising rates by 0.1 per cent on some of its switching deals for existing customers and Leeds Building Society is increasing the fixed