The Bank of England is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at 4.75% tomorrow after recent signs that a string of hikes have started to douse the red-hot housing market.
Last month the British central bank announced its fifth quarter-point increase in borrowing costs since November to try to rein in soaring property prices and inflationary pressures stemming from high oil prices.
But since then there have been signs of a cooling of the housing market. Leading home-loan provider Halifax said last week that house prices fell for the first time for two years last month.
British economic growth accelerated to the fastest annual growth rate for almost four years in the second quarter of 2004, when gross domestic product increased by 3.7% from the same time last year.
However, British retail sales fell in July for the first time in over a year, dropping by 0.4% from June, official figures showed last month.
And inflation in Britain slowed to a 12-month rate of 1.4% in July from 1.6% in June, well below the 2% target set for the Bank of England by the British government.
