A senior figure at the Bank of England (BoE) has said further interest rate rises might be needed to tackle stubborn inflationary pressures.

Jonathan Haskel, a member of the BoE's monetary policy committee (MPC) that decides rates, said that further increases cannot be ruled out because prices are still rising faster than the 2% target.

"My own view is that it's important we continue to lean against the risks of inflation momentum, and therefore that further increases in interest rates cannot be ruled out," Haskel wrote in an article for The Scotsman newspaper.

Read more: UK households to pay £9bn more as mortgage costs surge

"As difficult as our current circumstances are, embedded inflation would be worse," he added.

The remarks firm up expectations that the BoE is likely to lift borrowing costs again this month and probably through the summer.

The nine-member MPC has hiked rates from near zero at the end of 2021 to 4.5%, and markets anticipate a peak around 5.5% later this year.

Economists at KPMG are also warning that UK interest rates will continue to rise this year, due to stubborn inflation.

Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, said: “We’ve seen a slightly stronger momentum for the UK economy but risks are still elevated on the downside.

"A stickier inflation will see monetary policy tightening even further, increasing the risk of unwelcome side effects among other potential headwinds.”

Read more: Mortgage costs driving buyers to 35-year loans to keep payments affordable

Expectations of higher interest rates has caused turbulence in the mortgage market in recent weeks.

Ian Stuart, CEO of HSBC UK Bank, told Radio 4’s Today programme that inflation is looking sticky, and probably won’t fall “quite as fast” as hoped. That means that borrowing costs are unlikely to start falling again soon.

The US Federal Reserve is expected to pause its series of interest rate increases at its meeting this week, while the European Central Bank is likely to raises rates at its meeting on Thursday.

The BoE will reveal its monetary policy decision the following week.

Watch: More mortgage costs rise with 'worse to come' as Bank of England base rate expected to reach 5.5% high next year

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