Minutes from Bank’s meeting suggest further QE is likely
THE UK economy is suffering a drubbing across the board, said the Bank of England in its latest economic survey yesterday, raising the prospect of more monetary intervention, despite the Bank’s “wait and see” attitude revealed by minutes also released yesterday.
Construction decline worsened, manufacturing export growth slowed, investment intentions were reined in, and labour market tightening suffered its sharpest slowdown for over two years, said the agents’ survey of conditions.
The monetary policy committee (MPC) – which sets interest rates and decides on quantitative easing (QE) – rejected further money printing and further rate cuts unanimously, citing existing interventions. But some members thought that this decision was “finely balanced”, and that “a good case could be made…for more asset purchases”, suggesting further QE may be on the horizon.