DURHAM (MNI) – Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Ben
Broadbent has left the door open to backing further quantitative easing.
Broadbent was in a minority of two who voted against the extension
of QE by stg50 billion at the MPC’s July meeting but he has no deep
seated opposition to extending it.
“I would be prepared to vote for more stimulus should the
conditions warrant it,” Broadbent said in a question and answer session
following his speech here.
In the speech Broadbent focused on the UK’s productivity puzzle,
with employment having risen since 2007 despite output still being 3%
below its pre-financial crisis peak.
Broadbent said policymakers should place more weight on employment
data as these have been a better guide to inflation. He argued
inefficient allocation of capital, due to the malfunctioning financial
markets, was a key factor behind the productivity story, with capital
not flowing from the less, to the more, productive sectors.
–London newsroom: 4420 7 862 7491; email: wwilkes@marketnews.com
drobinson@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$B$$$,M$$BE$]
