Interest rates are expected to hit 0.75 per cent next week amid fears that the Bank of England could push them up to as much as two per cent by the end of the year.
Last month the Bank forecast that consumer price inflation - a measure of rising prices - would peak at about 7.25 per cent in April. That is when household gas and electricity bills are due to rise by around 54 per cent when a price cap set by Ofgem changes.
However, an inflationary rate of eight per cent is now being predicted for later this year, with a rise in interest rates one method that can be used to quell it, making borrowing more expensive. The pressure on the bank has been raised several levels because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
