LONDON: British government bonds held steady in early trade on Thursday, ahead of a key policy decision by the Bank of England on whether or not to inject more monetary stimulus into the economy.
Investors have been cautious ahead of the Bank of England's decision after a two-day meeting, with economists expecting no change in policy, including no new round of quantitative easing via bond purchases. The bank's decision is due at 1200 GMT.
"With QE largely priced out in this meeting, we think that a surprise policy easing would have much more impact on the market than no change," said Citi strategists in a note.
"We think the risk reward now favours lightening up such exposure ahead of this meeting," they added.
At 0824 GMT, the December gilt future was 8 ticks higher at 120.27, while its German counterpart was 1 tick lower on the day.
Ten-year gilt yields fell 1 basis point to 1.748 percent, while the spread between 10-year gilt yields and equivalent Bund yields was 1 basis point tighter at 37 points, having widened in the past week to levels not seen since late May.
Economists and investors have been paring back expectations of more QE in November since data late last month showed stronger-than-expected GDP growth between July and September.
Markets also digested data released overnight which saw the number of permanent job placements in Britain rise for the first time since May.
Britain's labour market has been a bright spot amongst recent data releases, proving surprisingly resilient over the past 12 months as firms kept creating jobs despite the weak economy. Unemployment has inched down and employment hit an all-time high in August.
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