Bootle: No interest rate rise until 2013; King: Debt 'massive' problem

The Bank of England will not hike interest rates until 2013 as the economic recovery remains "pretty weak," former treasury adviser Roger Bootle has said, a day after Bank governor Mervyn King dismissed an early rise due to the "sheer volume of debt in the economy".

Bootle, who is now an economic adviser at Deloitte & Touche, added in a report by the auditor it is "not out of the question" the Bank will need to issue more quantitative easing, according to Bloomberg. He said in the report: "The underlying momentum of the economic recovery looks pretty weak. My central forecast is still that rates remain on hold throughout this year and next." "It is not out of the question the MPC will eventually need to give more support to the economy. But additional asset purchases, if they do come, are perhaps unlikely until 2012." GDP will increase 1.5% th...