Last week, the UK’s largest building society Nationwide launched a five-year fixed rate mortgage charging less than 4%, and more lenders are expected to follow its lead in the days ahead. With luck, this will be the start of a deluge of rate cuts.

Eight out 10 economists polled by news agency Reuters forecast that the BoE’s rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC) will cut base rates from today’s 5.25% to 5% on Thursday.

It’s not a done deal, though.

Consumer price inflation may have…