Barclays cuts rates by up to 66bps but Nationwide raises fixes as swaps climb back above 4%

Barclays cut selected residential rates by up to 0.66% from 16 July, but Nationwide went the other way, raising some fixed and tracker deals by up to 0.35% and lifting its two-year fix from 4.19% to 4.54%. The driver is funding costs: two- and five-year swap rates briefly dipped below 4% in early July but have climbed back to around 4.18-4.26% as renewed Middle East tensions unsettle markets, and lenders price off swaps. For buyers, the wave of cuts seen earlier this month has stalled and brokers are advising securing a rate rather than waiting for further falls; for sellers, affordability has stopped improving week on week. This is marginal repricing, not a Bank Rate move - fixes remain well below last year's levels and could ease again if swaps settle.