, Columnist
Bank of England Is Already Easing Off Its Pandemic Response
An extra 100 billion pounds for the pandemic program might suggest the bond buying is accelerating. It’s actually slowing down.
A slight improvement.
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The Bank of England’s decision to increase its pandemic bond-buying program by another 100 billion pounds ($124 billion), taking the total up to 745 billion pounds, suggests that its emergency response is accelerating.
In reality, the BOE is reducing the pace of its interventions as the economic outlook brightens somewhat. The central bank now expects the U.K.’s gross domestic product to have fallen by 20% in the second quarter. That’s not great, but it’s better than the previous estimate of a 27% plunge.