LONDON: British bond prices dipped in early trade on Wednesday as investors turned to riskier investments after further stimulus from the Bank of Japan and ahead of Bank of England minutes that might contain pointers about future UK monetary policy.
The Bank of Japan boosted its asset purchase programme by 10 trillion yen ($127.21 billion) to 80 trillion yen on Wednesday, following the US Federal Reserve's stimulus plan last week, in a bid to boost the chances of an economic recovery.
At 0739 GMT, the December gilt future was 16 ticks lower at 118.61, holding up slightly better than the equivalent Bund future, as stock markets gained.
The minutes from the Bank of England's policy meeting on September 5 and 6, when the nine-member strong Monetary Policy Committee left its current plan of quantitative easing (QE) asset purchasing unchanged, will show if the discussions showed a tendency for more easing.
"Given market expectations for more QE in November are steadily rising, there is some risk of disappointment at a lack of guidance on future policy moves," Monument Securities strategist Marc Ostwald said.
The minutes will be released at 0830 GMT. Later on Wednesday, the Bank of England will also publish the results of its extended collateral term repo liquidity operation, an emergency tool launched in June to ease banks' funding stress.
Most economist expect the central bank to increase its purchases of government bonds beyond the 375 billion pounds that has been approved so far, once the current 50 billion-pound round is completed in November.
However, the two policymaker who voted against the current round -- chief economist Spencer Dale and external MPC member Ben Broadbent -- have highlighted their reluctance to vote for further easing steps in speeches since the September decision.
Both pointed to potential inflation risks, though consumer price inflation ticked down in August, providing some scope for further easing.
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