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Bank holds back on emergency cash
The Bank of England has held back from pumping more emergency cash into the economy amid hopes that the UK has avoided a technical recession in the first three months of the year.
The Bank of England kept its quantitative easing programme at 325 billion pounds
The Bank of England has held back from pumping more emergency cash into the economy amid hopes that the UK has avoided a technical recession in the first three months of the year.
The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept its quantitative easing (QE) stock at £325 billion, after injecting £50 billion in February, while holding interest rates at a record low of 0.5%.
The MPC's April meeting follows a number of positive surveys that have suggested the economy returned to growth in the first quarter of the year.
But the upbeat mood in the City was jolted by figures showing a surprise contraction in manufacturing activity in February.
Many economists still expect another multibillion cash injection from the Bank later in the year, possibly in May and despite American counterparts at the Federal Reserve increasingly moving away from further QE.
Minutes of a meeting published on Tuesday showed fewer members of the Fed said more QE in the US could be necessary in the future. This shook world markets, with the FTSE 100 Index down by more than 2% on Wednesday.
In London, two of the MPC's nine members are likely to have repeated calls for an additional £25 billion QE boost during Thursday's meeting. But they will have been outgunned by those who do not want to rush into pumping more money into the economy as it could push up inflation.
The UK's recovery has shown tentative signs of gathering pace, particularly after the powerhouse services sector grew at a faster-than-expected rate in March. But the economy shrank by a bigger than previously thought 0.3% in the final quarter of 2011, while influential forecaster the OECD said there was a further contraction of 0.1% in the first three months of this year, meaning the economy was back in recession.
Most economists think growth will be sluggish and lacklustre for at least the next three months, while there are also doubts as to whether inflation will fall back to its 2% target in the coming months, as the Bank has predicted.
Inflation eased to 3.4% in February from its peak of 5.2% in September and its continued reduction is seen as being key to the recovery because it will alleviate the squeeze on consumers and spark a rise in spending.
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19Comments
05/04/2012 13:35
05/04/2012 19:22
WOULD RATHER BE POOR, YES THAT,S RIGHT POOR.
CAN,T ANYTING THEN CAN YA, SOD OFF BANKS.
DAM ALL POLITICIANS TO HELL. ALL OF THEM.
MPS EQUALS = I TELL OTHER HUMAN BEINGS NOTHING BUT LIES, FOR A LIVING FOR SOME OTHER PURPOSE, TO FOOL THE PEOPLE.
NO I DONT WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH THAT, YOU CAN KEEP IT. I HOPE IT ALL GOES **** UP, BECAUSE YOU NEED TO LEARN A LESSON ABOUT MONEY WITH THIS GENERATION, AS THAT IS ALL YOU PEOPLE ARE BOTHERED ABOUT, YOU ARE GREEDY HUMANS.
HOW MUCH MONEY IS ENOUGH FOR YOU TO LIVE AS A HUMAN BEING
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
CAN,T ANYTING THEN CAN YA, SOD OFF BANKS.
DAM ALL POLITICIANS TO HELL. ALL OF THEM.
MPS EQUALS = I TELL OTHER HUMAN BEINGS NOTHING BUT LIES, FOR A LIVING FOR SOME OTHER PURPOSE, TO FOOL THE PEOPLE.
NO I DONT WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH THAT, YOU CAN KEEP IT. I HOPE IT ALL GOES **** UP, BECAUSE YOU NEED TO LEARN A LESSON ABOUT MONEY WITH THIS GENERATION, AS THAT IS ALL YOU PEOPLE ARE BOTHERED ABOUT, YOU ARE GREEDY HUMANS.
HOW MUCH MONEY IS ENOUGH FOR YOU TO LIVE AS A HUMAN BEING
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
05/04/2012 19:17
no one gives a **** anymore, we all know the goverment has just taken what they wanted once again. Same old **** in this rotten country.
massively arrogant of life and living.
but all the english snobby toffs do, is lie there areses off but would have you believe they are good people.
i hate the english snobbery, it is that excactly that which tearing the heart out of england.
sod emm all in banks, they are ruining life, and they know it.
GREED HAS RUINED YOU / TO SOFT THIS DAY AND AGE / GET OFF ON MURDER / ENGLAND THE ISLAND OF CHICKENS AND NO COURAGE OR STRENGTH JUST LIES, THAT IS ALL THEY ARE LIES.
TAKE YOUR CASH AND CREDIT AND STICK IT UP YOUR ARSE.
massively arrogant of life and living.
but all the english snobby toffs do, is lie there areses off but would have you believe they are good people.
i hate the english snobbery, it is that excactly that which tearing the heart out of england.
sod emm all in banks, they are ruining life, and they know it.
GREED HAS RUINED YOU / TO SOFT THIS DAY AND AGE / GET OFF ON MURDER / ENGLAND THE ISLAND OF CHICKENS AND NO COURAGE OR STRENGTH JUST LIES, THAT IS ALL THEY ARE LIES.
TAKE YOUR CASH AND CREDIT AND STICK IT UP YOUR ARSE.
05/04/2012 19:19
05/04/2012 19:27
05/04/2012 13:40
12/04/2012 17:04
05/04/2012 13:49
12/04/2012 17:00
With such a large and growing national debt and QE making less GDP growth per pound printed as time goes on, the Bof E has no choice. A weak pound is the only hope of avoiding non competitive exports. This method of hiding the systemic problem which is FIAT currency will start to unwind when oil prices move higher. ....... watch this space.
05/04/2012 14:51
For too long savers have suffered, it's time for them to see some return better than inflation for their hard earned savings. Many of those who are now savers paid mortgage interest of up to 15% when they were buying their homes and PPI on top which they can't reclaim because of the start date for claims.
House buyers, although they may not think it, have never had it so good when you also include the fact that house prices have gone down for many years. So make hay while the sun shines.
There should be a Government owned Peoples Bank. Paying and charging reasonable interest rates, lending to those who need a mortgage and can afford the 5% deposite. Not all these hair brain schemes the Government is coming out with or, the public bailing out Banks/Bankers for them to award themselves £M's in bonuses.
Cameron's Clowns & Clegg's Cronies - enough said
05/04/2012 15:03
Simon - Generations before you had their problems, much like the generations ahead will have theirs. 30 years ago a luxury item was a chocolate bar. The world has changed, the youth think they need an ipad or big tv to live a decent life. 30 years ago there were 10 million less people in the country, geing gay was illegal, women had less rights, children had less rights...we can of course go back but no-one wants to.
05/04/2012 17:04
05/04/2012 19:07
05/04/2012 14:10
Chris X. Savings, if you have any, deserve a fair return. (not exorbitant) Thought we were all in this together. Have you made your contribution. Not only are we paying higher taxes, together with everyone else, we are penalised by low interest rates. Glad you have a low mortgage repayment, nearly lost my house when this government were last in power. I know of several couples, both working, who have completely renovated their houses, with a decent rate of interest, I could do mine. Would that help to stimulate the economy?
05/04/2012 13:39
Chris - you taken into account (real - petrol / food / heating / housing) inflation?
There was a time if you worked hard and saved hard, there'd be enough left over to enjoy a few years of retirement or maybe even your own little house - not any more.
Governments, banks and big business want to keep turning you over until the day you die - then the tax man moves in....
05/04/2012 19:50
The decision today means nothing..My Mortage provider and several others have decided "On their own" to up the rates from May due to "Higher costs of borrowing"!!!!! WHAT...I phoned them and said..what are you talking about i havnt borrowed anything in years from you..They cudnt answer that..so i switched...The Bank of England is a joke an so are these meetings..If the lenders arnt tied to the rates decision then whats the point other than another tool for the banks to raise there rates once the BOE decides to more...Waste of time and money...Oh P.s i have a savingsd account too and guess what!!!! The same lennder lowered that rate too..so i moved that tooo...Dont like to name but stuff it they are a disgrace..HALIFAX....Shame on you...
05/04/2012 14:07
A fair crack at the whip like the generations before me would have been nice - you know the kind of thing ; pensions that pay, job safety / security.
I'm fully supportive of paying off the national debts (they should never have been allowed to be run up in the first place but that's another argument) but it seems some areas of our ...... national infrastructure (?? private and public) seem to delight in ensuring the main brunt of the cost is borne by the working man.
TBH I don't see things going back - big businesses are addicted to increased profits for no increase in value, and the feckless and useless are now addicted to welfare, having being told their entire lives that they were 'special needs' and so didn't have to work or contribute.
note - 30 years ago a mortgage was based on 2½x the main wage earner + spouse - you'd never get that now.....
Sorry - rant over - normal service resumed 
05/04/2012 13:19
05/04/2012 14:33
I pay my tax thanks Ted. I contribute. I pay for stuff I don't use or need like buses, schools, libraries. I never said my mortgage was low, it's just lower but because i'm responsible it means if the rates go up then i will budget accordingly. As for in it together, if you bought that line then you are a fool. Every person looks after themselves and their family and screw the rest. You want rates higher so you can be more wealthy, very selfish of you (naturally) but illustrates my point. You would screw next door for your own benefit.
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