The Bank of England's monetary policy committee has announced that it is to leave interest rates unchanged at four per cent.

Forum Response: Building Societies Association

A spokesman for the Building Societies Association told ePolitix.com: "We believe the Bank of England made the correct decision - certainly for the next month. The economy is not going to surge ahead or fall behind as a result of interest rates remaining at four per cent. However, while the Bank was prudent yesterday, there may well be reasons to alter the rate next month."

Forum Response: Construction Products Association

Allan Wilén, economics director of the Construction Products Association told ePolitix.com: "The Association is disappointed at the Bank of England's decision to leave interest rates unchanged at 4%. The Association believes that faced with subdued inflationary pressures, deepening recession in UK manufacturing and expectations that recent rises in consumer spending will slow over coming months the Bank has scope to further reduce rates.

Despite earlier reductions, UK bank rates remain relatively high both in real terms and in comparison to the US and Euro zone. Furthermore the latest official new orders figures confirm the weakening outlook for private sector construction activity. Developers are adopting a wait and see attitude to the release of new projects in the aftermath of 11 September, with new orders for private housing, industrial and commercial projects during the final quarter of last year sharply down on the preceding three months."

Forum Response: Institute of Directors

Ruth Lea, the head of the policy unit at the IoD, told ePolitix.com: "The economy is giving conflicting signals at present with chill in some sectors, for example manufacturing, and relative buoyancy in others, notably consumer spending and the public sector. Under these circumstances today's decision by the Bank of England seems sensible.

"Even though there are still worries about the domestic economy and the global situation still looks fairly grim - though there are already signs of improvement in the all important US economy - we do not, on the whole, expect further cuts in interest rates unless there is a rapid deterioration in economic activity.

"The bias now, therefore, seems to be towards monetary tightening. But we believe that, provided sterling remains strong and consumer behaviour is 'sustainable', such tightening should only be modest this year. This scenario would change, of course, if sterling fell significantly and/or consumer spending were to be very buoyant."