This month's decision to keep the base rate of interest on hold came after a unanimous vote by the Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC).

Bank of England minutes show that all nine members of the committee voted in favour of the motion to leave rates on hold.

This followed the split decision in August to cut the base rate to 4.5 per cent, which saw governor Mervyn King on the losing side.

Despite the continued slump in the high street, housing market activity has picked up again and inflation has hit a seven-year high.

This means that any further cuts in the cost of borrowing look unlikely, at least until next year.

Analysts expect the MPC to leave the rate in its current position until the first quarter of 2006, at which point another cut could be on the cards.