Raj Kandola, director of external affairs at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “This morning's GDP results underline the fragile nature of the economy as growth flatlined last quarter and fell in October more sharply than expected.
“Activity fell across all sectors with the bad weather having an impact on consumer spending and of course, higher borrowing costs continue to act as a drag on investment - a theme which we have repeatedly encountered as part of our research on the Business Commission West Midlands. All eyes will now turn to tomorrow's MPC meeting to see how the Bank of England respond with many city analysts expecting rates to be held until the latter part of the year.
“With this in mind, the Government needs to ensure its focus on reducing cost pressures for businesses and unlocking investment remains front and centre of their agenda for growth as we head into 2024.”
