East Midlands Chamber has given its reaction to the Bank of England’s interest rate cut to 5%.
Chief Executive Scott Knowles said: “This long-anticipated cut will be welcome news for the East Midlands business community. The easing of the cost of borrowing, albeit slightly, from its historic high for many years, will be welcome by businesses and will encourage investment into the creation of new jobs, premises, technology, plant and machinery.
“Of course, the crisis in the cost of doing business remains for many businesses and sectors after inflationary pressures over the last two years. This is simply one step in the right direction.
“While we’ve seen a gradual easing of inflation, GDP has shown growth and six out of ten respondents in our own Quarterly Economic Survey said they anticipate improvements in turnover and profit in the coming months, as well as many having reported positive results in sales and orders. Cost base pressures remain, though, and businesses won’t be complacent with today’s news.”
Highlights from East Midlands Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey Q2, 2024:
- Six out of ten respondents expected turnover to increase
- Nearly half of respondents expected profitability to increase
- Three out of ten respondents reported an increase in overseas sales over the last three months (up from two out ten in Q3, 2023)
View the full Quarterly Economic Survey for Q2, 2024 here.
