Will a rate hike

help the struggling pound? Phil McHugh, of foreign exchange specialist Currencies Direct, thinks not. “A rate hike is not likely to make a substantial difference when people start buying their summer holiday money,” he said. “A hike on Thursday may lead to a short-lived boost for the pound before Brexit related uncertainty pulls it back down.”

Even savers are not likely to benefit this time, according to James Blower of independent website Savings Guru. “If we do see an increase, it will make little difference for savers as competition in the market is being driven by small and new banks and a base rate change is unlikely to make much difference to that,” he said. “We may see some smaller building societies pass on some of the increase but I expect the big banks and building societies will use any increase to improve profit margins.”