The pound wobbled and the yield on short-term U.K. bonds edged higher on Thursday, after the Bank of England said the pace of continuing government bond purchases can be “slowed somewhat.”
By an 8-to-1 vote, the Bank of England said it would maintain its target for U.K. government bond purchases at £875 billion, with only chief economist Andy Haldane, who is going to be leaving the central bank, voting to reduce the size by £50 billion.
The central bank did say it would be making the purchases less aggressively. “As envisaged since the announcement of the program in November 2020 and consistent with developments in financial markets since then, the pace of these continuing purchases could now be slowed somewhat. This operational decision should not be interpreted as a change in the stance of monetary policy,” it said.
The yield on the 2-year gilt
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The FTSE 100
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