THE CONFLICT in Iran has complicated the picture when it comes to setting interest rates, businesses in Coventry and Warwickshire have been told.
Graeme Chaplin, the Bank of England’s Agent for the West Midlands, met a roundtable of companies from across the region at an event organised by Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.
He heard the extent to which firms are being affected by the current climate and how they were hoping for a period of stability after a series of shocks to the economy.
Graeme said: “Inflation has risen to 3.3 per cent – higher than we predicted in February, before the start of the war in the Middle East; it is likely to move higher later this year. The war is disrupting the supply of energy, raising its price and pushing up households’ fuel costs; utility bills will increase as well.
“The impact on the economy and inflation will depend on how much energy prices go up and how long they stay raised; it will also depend on how much pressure businesses feel to increase wages and prices.
“The Bank cannot affect global energy prices; our job is to make sure that higher inflation does not persist and have long-lasting effects on the economy. We are monitoring the situation very closely; whatever happens, we’ll make sure that inflation gets back to the 2% target in the medium term.”
Chamber board member Steve Harcourt, of Prime Accountants Group, chaired the meeting.
He said: “It was a fascinating insight from Graeme and was also great to hear from all of the businesses in the room on the issues they are facing.
“We all want to see an end to the conflict in Iran and, hopefully, that will lead to a more stable economy for us to build from.”
