Woolnough: £700bn QE could keep gilt yields low for years

M&G's Richard Woolnough said the possibility of another £375bn in asset purchases by the Bank of England means gilt yields could remain at record lows for years to come.

The Bank last week announced a £50bn expansion of its quantitative easing programme, bringing the total to £375bn and leading to fresh questions of how far the Bank will go with its asset purchases. Woolnough said comments made last month by governor Mervyn King, indicating the UK is not yet halfway through its economic crisis, suggest another £325bn of QE may yet materialise. "The BoE base rate has been set at 0.5% since March 2009, and over £325bn has been pumped into the financial system through QE," said the manager of the £8.1bn Optimal Income, £6.2bn Corporate Bond and £5bn Stra...