Bank of England's QE programme in £8bn profit

The Bank of England is sitting on an £8bn net profit from its £200bn quantitative easing programme.

A sharp increase in gilt prices over the past two weeks, as investors make the 'flight to quality' due to the eurozone concerns, has powered QE into profit for the first time in months, The Telegraph reports. The Bank's original investment of £198bn of gilts is now worth £199bn. It has also earned £8bn of interest receipts, although this has been offset by £1bn it had to pay in interest on its reserves. It is a significant turnaround for the programme, which was running a £3bn loss a few months ago. Simon Ward, chief economist at Henderson Global Investors, says although QE is curr...