Still Too Early To Raise Interest Rates

Commenting on today’s decision by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee to keep interest rates on hold at 0.5%, Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:

“Signs of a heathier economy, both in Scotland and across the UK, are more evident and consistent than they have been for some time and businesses are looking forward with optimism towards the year ahead.  However if we are to cement economic growth then the welcome strong trend in consumer demand must be matched consistently by evidence of increasing business investment.  We have begun to see some signs of this but until there is a solid trend of investment and whilst both inflation and wage increases remain subdued, then we would urge caution on the Bank of England when it comes to increasing interest rates.

“As the economy improves, so must interest rates return to normalised levels but there is no need just yet to steer us onto this path.”