LONDON (MNI) – Although it is only a week since the Bank of England
announced a stg75bln extension of its asset purchase programme, BOE
deputy governor Charlie Bean has said that the Monetary Policy Committee
is prepared to add to its stg275bln quantitative easing program if the
economic outlook worsens.
“If we need to undertake further purchases then we will do so,”
Bean told the Guardian newspaper.
Bean also said that there has been a noticeable deceleration in
activity indicators across the world.
“On top of that is layered all the concerns about the twin euro
area sovereign debt and banking sector crises,” he added.
In a Reuters interview published Wednesday, Bank of England Chief
Economist Spencer Dale said that developments overseas are key for the
setting of UK monetary policy and for what happens to the domestic
economy.
In the interview Dale highlighted how BOE policymakers are at the
mercy of events overseas and how they unfold will determine what happens
here.
“The main reason why our economic outlook has deteriorated very
substantially over the past few months is what’s happening in the rest
of the world and, therefore, how we will set the stance of policy going
forward,” Dale said.
The MPC will visit the North West of England in the week beginning
October 18 to meet with businesses and other groups in the region.
BOE Governor Mervyn King is expected to give a speech at the
Institute of Directors in Liverpool during the visit.
–London newsroom: 4420 7862 7491; e-mail:ukeditorial@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$$BE$,MT$$$$]
