Minutes of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) latest meeting show that UK interest rates are unlikely to rise this year from their record low of 0.5 per cent.

Benchmark interest rates influence the cost of loans and the value of savings. Lower rates encourage spending over saving and make mortgages cheaper.

At 0.5 per cent, UK rates have been at an all-time low for several years as monetary policy makers attempted to jolt the economy into recovery.

This month the nine-member MPC voted unanimously to freeze interest rates once again.

The minutes of the meeting show the committee discussed wage growth, which they described as “sustainable”, as well as dropping unemployment.

It agreed "there was considerable uncertainty about the amount of slack remaining within the economy", referring to measures such as the UK’s output gap and inflationary pressures.

But experts, such as Samuel Tombs at Capital Economics, believe any rate rise is at least 12 months away.