Commenting on the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England to raise interest rates by an historic 0.5% to 1.75%, Kitty Ussher, Chief Economist of the Institute of Directors, commented: 

“We welcome this decisive action by the Bank of England. Concern about inflation is causing firms to hesitate before committing to essential long-term investment. With energy prices continuing to rise, strong intervention is needed to increase confidence that we will soon be through the worst, so that boardroom decision-makers can plan ahead with greater certainty.

“At the moment two-thirds of our members believe the inflation rate will continue to rise until at least the Spring of next year, with a large number thinking the peak will come even later. We will be watching carefully to see if today’s rate rise brings business expectations more into line with the Bank of England’s central forecast that inflation will peak before the end of this year.”