No case for interest rates rise, says IoD
The West Midlands economy is "moribund" with consumer and business confidence flagging. That's the view of John Rider, regional chairman of the Institute of Directors (IoD), who has warned against any rise in interest rates.
His comments came as the IoD's latest monthly UK Economic Outlook report said there was still no case for raising interest rates this year.
It said a move now, given the current weak state of the economy, would be "unprecedented".
Rider said: "At the present time there is much discussion about the need for a Plan B in fiscal policy. We think the opposite. A major threat to the economy comes from near zero growth in the money supply. Recent indicators, with suggestions that even the manufacturing recovery may be grinding to a halt, have been very worrying."
He added that while the problem of short-term inflation remained, the risk to jobs, orders and profitability was "of much greater concern".
"Indeed, far from what would be a foolhardy rates rise, it is growing more likely that another tranche of quantitative easing may be required in the coming months to hold the economy together," said Rider.
