Is more UK quantitative easing now off the table?

Monetary Policy Committee member Adam Posen's surprise decision to curtail his calls for further quantitative easing in the UK raises questions over the Bank of England's next move.

Posen’s change of heart means just one member of the committee, David Miles, voted for further stimulus this month – and Miles said his own decision was “finely balanced”. The decision came as the committee expressed concerns over sticky inflation, as reflected in a surprise rise in April CPI inflation from 3.4% to 3.5%. Posen’s fellow MPC member Paul Tucker said on 17 April that inflation may not fall back to 2% this year as the Bank has previously predicted. Posen’s decision and those concerns have lessened the odds of a further addition to the Bank’s £325bn QE programme next month,...