Chamber News: Doctor's orders

Dr Brian Sloan, Chief Economist at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce

Commenting ahead of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee interest rate decision today (6 September), Dr Brian Sloan, Chief Economist at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said: “It is unlikely that there will be any change by the Bank on interest rates or asset purchases this month or next, as July’s announcement of an additional £50bn of asset purchases is not expected to be completed until November.

“The Bank is purchasing around £3bn of assets a week from the reserves it created, and at present approximately £25bn remains unspent, however these purchases are having little impact on growth in the wider economy.

“The Chamber was calling for decisive action and infrastructure investment over twelve months ago to support growth, but both the Bank and the Government ignored these warnings and we have been left with the stagnant environment we are experiencing today.

“We are currently conducting our Quarterly Economic Survey and early indications are that the impact of the Eurozone slowdown is now having a knock-on effect here in Greater Manchester, but if businesses are finding trading conditions better, we would urge them to let us know by completing the survey.