Financial experts have predicted that the Bank of England will choose to keep interest rates at their current level of 5.75 per cent.

The Bank has increased rates three times this year – in January, May and July – but there has been much speculation that is gearing up for a cut.

Last month, seven members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to maintain the rate but two voted to reduce it to 5.5 per cent.

However, a spokeswoman for the Centre for Economics and Business Research said that the organisation believed that the Bank would maintain the rate at 5.75 per cent but added there is "a 20 per cent chance of a cut".

Howard Archer, the chief UK and European economist at forecasting company Global Insight, commented that while it "is obviously extremely tight", the firm did not believe there would be a change.

"But we wouldn''t be surprised if they do. It''s right on the margin," he continued.

Representatives from Lloyds TSB, the Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC all added they believed that the rate would stay the same this month.