Commenting on today’s interest rate decision by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“The Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates was surprising given mounting uncertainty over the economic impact of the Omicron variant. While today’s rate increase may have little effect on most firms, many will view this as the first step in a longer policy movement – not as a partial reversal of last year’s…

Curfew will be valid at night; family gatherings allowed

Restaurants remain closed. Compiled by Spectator The government approved another round of milder measures. From December 17, people will be allowed to visit each other. The cabinet approved gatherings up to a maximum of six people, or for members of one household. This comes after Health Minister Vladimír Lengvarský told the public last week that…

BCC Reacts to Latest ONS Inflation Figures

Commenting on the inflation statistics for November 2021, published today by the Office for National Statistics, Head of Economics at the BCC Suren Thiru, said:  “The latest figures confirms that the surge in inflation continued unabated in November.   “The increase largely reflected higher fuel prices and strong base effects which pushed up clothing and footwear prices in comparison with November 2020. Stronger growth in…

BCC says October Trade data a warning sign

Reacting to the latest ONS Trade figures, William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “The recent uplift in trade with the EU following a difficult start to 2021 is not being sustained, and in October tipped into reverse. “This is a warning sign. Although the data is a one-month snapshot it feeds into a detectable trend of a levelling off…