Business leaders in Birmingham and the West Midlands have praised the decision by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee to keep interest rates at an historic low - and say things could stay that way for up to a year.

However, the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group said that while low interest rates were a welcome boost, other measures could further strengthen the UK's economic recovery.

The Chamber said that the Bank of England should seriously consider introducing another round of 'quantitative easing' if growth figures did not begin to accelerate.  

President Christine Braddock said: "Weak domestic consumer demand and a downturn in global trade flows have hit export sales, and because of this it would be prudent for 'quantitative easing' to be considered as an option for the Bank of England should the economy continue to struggle.

"Businesses have been having a tough time recently.  Inflation is more than twice its target level, instability remains within the Eurozone, fuel and gas prices have risen and the cost of raw materials continues to worry businesses.  

"Quantitative easing could provide the kick-start that the economy needs and help the UK economy out of this rough patch.

"However we should be clear that we still believe that tackling the deficit should be our priority.  Recent issues around US debt and the Eurozone only reaffirm the necessity to tackle our structural deficit.  Although the recovery has been choppy and painful we believe that we are broadly on the right course."

Mike Ashton, spokesman for the West Midlands Chambers of Commerce, added: "Many economists believe interest rates will remain unchanged until next year.

"We believe that this would be a sensible course of action by the Bank of England, given that the global economy is still struggling to recover in the short term."