Pictured above: Christine Braddock

Midland business leaders welcomed yesterday's decision by the Monetary Policy Committee's decision to keep interest rates at an all time low of 0.5 per cent, despite fears of surging inflation and commodity prices.

Christine Braddock, president of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the struggling Birmingham manufacturing sector will continue to be able to export because of the weak pound. 

She said:  "Exporting is the way forward for many companies to invest in growth and create more jobs, so keeping interest rates low will help the economic recovery. 

"The government must also ensure that exporters are not at a disadvantage in key areas such as trade finance.  The Chamber's latest quarterly economic survey indicates that business confidence is still fairly high but to sustain this, interest rates do need to remain low."