Bank of England Official: UK Interest Rates May Rise in Spring 2015

UK households could see interest rates rise next spring, according to a Bank of England official.

Martin Weale, who is a member of the central bank's rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), told Sky News that the gradual increase is likely to happen in the first half of 2015.

"I think it is very helpful if we try and explain that the most likely path for interest rates is that the first rise will come perhaps in the spring of next year and then the path is likely to be relatively gradual," Weale explained.

The country's interest rates are currently at historic lows of 0.5%.

Mark Carney, the BoE's governor, had previously said a fall of the UK's unemployment rate to 7% would trigger the bank to consider a rate rise.

But the central bank most recently revealed that it will analyse income and wages before deciding to hike rates.

According to a TV interview with Carney, the BoE governor said it would only hike rates if data showed that the economy was operating near full capacity.

"The path of monetary policy, the path of interest rates is going to be calibrated very carefully to ensure that only when we see sustainable growth in jobs, in incomes and in spending, will we make adjustments," Carney told the BBC.

He added: "We can responsibly take our time and only adjust interest rates once more slack has been cut."

The comments came after Carney revealed that the BoE would not hike rates in the near future, despite UK employment falling by its fastest pace since 2007.