BoE Injects Another £150 Billion Pounds into the Economy

In an effort to sustain economic productivity amid the rising second wave of COVID-19, the Bank of England on Thursday announced it would inject an additional £150 billion into the economy.

This was announced a day before the United Kingdom embarked on another lockdown after reporting new 25,177 coronavirus cases with 492 deaths on Wednesday.

The additional £150 billion will take the total government bond purchases to £875 billion pounds, according to the central bank’s quarterly Monetary Policy Report.

The new cash injection came as England enters its second lockdown since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in the country and growth plunged on a broader scale.

“If the outlook for inflation weakens, the Committee stands ready to take whatever additional action is necessary to achieve its remit,” the Bank of England said as it cut its growth projection for the year.

The British economy is expected to contract by 11 percent in 2020, more than the 9.5 percent the apex bank predicted in March. The bank also lowered its estimated recovery for next year, saying economic fundamentals have worsened since the last forecast.

“The outlook for the economy remains unusually uncertain,” the BoE said, noting the unresolved trading issues with the country’s largest trading partners, the European Union.