Business leaders in Coventry and Warwickshire would like to see a firm commitment to keeping interest rates low over the next 18 months.
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) met this week for the second time since new governor Mark Carney took over from Mervyn King.
After last month’s meeting, Carney said rates would remain low and now the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce is calling upon the Bank of England to give further details on its plan to keep them at 0.5 per cent until 2015 unless inflation accelerates.
Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “Low interest rates are key to building the economic recovery and having a degree of certainty over their level for the next 18 months to two years will give businesses confidence.
“It was refreshing to hear Mark Carney talk more about the medium term after last month’s MPC decision and a clear commitment to low rates will help firms.
“The MPC will announce next week whether it will give future guidance and we believe that would help to build some degree of certainty into the economy.”
She added: “We understand that the Bank must balance that with concerns over inflation but, at this stage, it’s vital that we underpin these early signs of an economic recovery.”
