BoE's Fisher still open to extend asset purchase programme

LONDON: Bank of England policymaker Paul Fisher said he was open to the possibility of extending the central bank's asset purchase programme if the economy takes a sudden downturn, a newspaper said on Thursday.

"I would consider it and I've said I still hold that possibility open," Fisher was quoted as saying in an interview with the Daily Mail.

The central bank pumped 200 billion pounds ($327 billion) to prop up the economy between 2009 and 2010.

He reiterated his view that it was too early to start raising interest rates and said domestic consumption was fragile.

"I want to make sure we get over this soft patch before we begin the inevitable," he said.

Fisher has consistently voted with the majority of the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee to leave interest rates at their record low of 0.5 percent.

Copyright Reuters, 2011