Increasing numbers of people are investing in fixed-rate loans, according to data released yesterday.

Increasing numbers of people are investing in fixed-rate loans, according to data released yesterday.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show that fixed-rate loans comprised more than three quarters (76 per cent) of all lending in the final quarter of 2005.

Fixed-rate mortgages involve paying an agreed rate for a set period of time, regardless of what the Bank of England base rate does.

The figure represents a rise from 68 per cent in the third quarter and 56 per cent from the second quarter of last year.

Christopher Dean, spokesman for CML, said the growth in fixed-rate popularity showed that people "feel interest rates are at a low and that they may go up soon".

Michael Coogan, CML director general, explained that the trend "shows people are planning to avoid financial difficulty should rates rise in the future".

At the Bank of England's quarterly inflation press report yesterday, governor Mervyn King suggested that an interest rate cut in spring was not likely.