After a disappointing 0.1 per cent economic growth in the final
quarter of 2009, business leaders are calling for the Bank of
England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to opt against tightening
its monetary policy for the foreseeable future when it meets on
Thursday.
Paul Bassi, president of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (BCI), said that last week's GDP figures emphasised the
fragility of the economy.
He said: "We expect interest rates to be kept at 0.5 per cent.
We are still hearing of massive job losses and redundancies. While
it is encouraging that manufacturing activity has this month hit a
15-year high, it is essential that this is sustained.
"We are not calling for MPC to extend quantitative easing at
this stage but it should certainly not remove the stimulus which is
in place."