County business leader warns against interest rate hike

A Lancashire business leader has urged the Bank of England to think twice before increasing interest rates following the luke warm GDP figures released this week.

By The Newsroom

Published 26th Oct 2017, 18:23 BST

Updated 12th Dec 2017, 05:24 BST

The Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product grew by 0.4 per cent in estimate for July to September this year, 0.1 per cent ahead of expectations thanks partly to strong service sector growth.

The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee is mulling whether to raise interest rates from record lows of 0.25 per cent in November, as inflation continues to rise.

But Babs Murphy, chief executive of the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce said: “The UK economy is facing a challenging period we would urge the Monetary Policy Committee to proceed with caution on raising interest rates.

“If they attempt to tighten monetary policy in current economic conditions it could weaken and already fragile growth.

“The Chancellor in next month’s budget needs to address the escalating burden of up- front business costs with demonstrate clear focus on supporting business growth.”