BoE’s David Miles calls for £50 billion boost to UK economy
25 Jun 2012
The Bank of England should put at least £50 billion into Britain's economy, according to David Miles, a member of the bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the Financial Times today reported.
The country needed a ''more expansionary monetary policy,'' he said, adding, ''exactly the right amount'' could not be known in advance, the newspaper reported.
Miles saw no reason for apportioning blame for the UK economy performing worse than the MPC forecast and cited unexpectedly high commodity prices as being responsible, according to the FT report.
Miles voted for a third round of monetary stimulus at the BoE's policy meeting this month.
"Do we need a more expansionary monetary policy? 'Yes'. Should it be a substantial change in asset purchases? 'Yes'. Is 50 billion pounds a substantial number? 'Yes it is'. Could one know in advance what is exactly the right amount to do? 'Absolutely not'," FT's website quoted Miles as saying.
According to Miles's counterpart Martin Weale, who voted with the 5-4 majority at the BoE's MPC meeting, further monetary stimulus could be applied to the economy without putting the inflation target at risk.
Britain finds itself in its second recession in four years, and risks a longer slump as the euro zone searches for a path leading to growth.
Miles, however, said that he could see no reason for thinking that Britain's recovery had been curtailed by the government's austerity measures, aimed at reducing the budget deficit.
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