BoE set to delay quantitative tightening until gilt markets calm

The Bank of England is likely to delay the sale of billions of pounds of government bonds in a bid to encourage greater stability in gilt markets following Britain’s failed “mini” budget, the Financial Times said on Tuesday.

The decision by the central bank’s top officials comes after they judged the gilts market to be “very distressed” in recent weeks, the newspaper said.

Under water: how the Bank of England threw markets a lifeline

The bank had already delayed the start of a scheme to sell down 838 billion pounds of government bond holdings built up after the global financial crisis and during the COVID-19 pandemic.