a smaller dose of medicine than last month, and some of the bank's experts thought it should not have gone up at all. so, where are rates going next year? well, higher still for starters, but perhaps not much higher than a%. this is also a trend around the world as rates have been going up sharply to combat the global energy shock and inflation surge, including today in the eurozone and yesterday in the usa. but also around the world, signs that the cycle of rising rates may be starting to slow. now, expectations of where bank interest rates go feed into the cost of mortgage borrowing. these are average fixed two—year mortgages, which surge to about 6.5% in the aftermath of the mini budget and and they have come down to about 5.8%. but still well above where they were during the summer. that, the bank says, has already hit the housing market. so, the bank still expect a prolonged recession as cost of living pressures eat into incomes.