All of us can breathe a sigh of relief now that the Bank of England has announced that it will be freezing the base rate at 5.25%.
Several economists had predicted that the rate would rise to 5.5%, but following 14 consecutive rate rises, the Bank decided that following an unexpected slowdown in inflation during the month of August, a further increase would not be necessary.
However, with four members of their panel voting to increase and 5 against, it was a close call and the Bank has stated that it would be “very very” premature to expect any drop in interest rates soon.
As business owners, we can now look towards the Autumn Statement to see what measures the government will be taking, if any, to support SMEs. For example, I know quite a few of you speak about the very unfavourable terms you are given when supplying some companies and in particular supermarkets and other larger stores.
