Bank of England delays second sale of gilts

The Bank of England came up with the decision to start selling assets from the quantitative easing asset portfolio on November 1. The UK central bank postponed the start of the second gilt sale operations as they may coincide with the government’s fiscal statement, as reported by Bloomberg.

The UK government holds a total of 838 billion pounds worth of UK government bonds that it has been buying for more than a decade to boost the economy. The Bank of England announced it would undertake large-scale purchases of 750 million pounds of short-dated gilts in London on November 1. 

The second gilt sale operation was scheduled for Nov. 17, the day new Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt would unveil the fiscal plan. According to the latest data, the sale will take place on Nov. 24.