The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee meet this week to decide whether to cut interest rates this month or to wait until February. Unlike this time last year there is a unanimous belief amongst economists that interest rates are only heading downwards. What they can’t agree on is when the cuts should come and by how much?

Last month’s decision to cut by 0.25% was taken to prevent a sharp fall in economic activity, but nothing that has happened since then has brightened the outlook. Retail figures over Xmas are thought to be disappointing. Share prices are tumbling, sterling is falling and the credit crisis is still with us and is likely to remain so for at least the first half of the year.

So it should be a no-brainer really. We need another 0.25% cut in base rate and we need it now. What’s more we then need all lenders, not just some, to pass on the cut in full to borrowers.

Will we get the cut on Thursday? I have a sneaking suspicion, and I hope I’m wrong, that the Bank will wait. Energy prices are rising and inflation is still a major worry. In addition, three month LIBOR- the rate at which banks lend to one another- has tumbled to 5.83%, just under 0.4% above the base rate.

For the sake at least of 1.4m homeowners whose fixed term rates are up this year, let’s hope Mr King acts sooner rather than later.