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UK warned it may need more quantitative easing
Last Updated:2013-02-07 11:38 | CNTV.cn
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The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has said that the Bank of England should be ready to inject more money into the economy. It warned that if the UK economy remains weak, a further round of quantitative easing would seem to be the best option.

Not out of the woods yet - that’s the OECD’s outlook for the UK. The Paris-based think-tank says the Bank of England should be on standby to pump more money into the UK economy. It forecasts that Britain’s economy will grow just 0.9 percent this year after shrinking by 0.1 percent in 2012.

OECD secretary general Angel Gurria, says more quantitative easing should be considered.

Angel Gurria, OECD Secretary General, said, "This is of course if growth fails to catch. Additional measures to improve the financing of the economy such as the funding for lending scheme are also welcome. But we cannot ignore the elephant in the room. The government deficit is still over 8 percent of GDP and it continues to be one of the largest in the OECD today."

But the OECD’s calls may fall on deaf ears at the Bank. It’s already spent 375 billion pounds on government debt in a bid to get the economy moving. And several of its top policymakers have questioned the effectiveness of another round of QE.

UK Chancellor George Osborne remains focused on austerity.

George Osborne, UK Chancellor, said, "As we see through these difficult but necessary reforms, it’s a vital part of our road to recovery and it enables the cost of borrowing to stay low."

The UK has suffered two recessions in the last four years and could be on the verge of another. But Head of Equities at Hargreaves Lansdown, Richard Hunter, says things are headed in the right direction.

Richard Hunter, Head of Hargreaves Lansdown, said, "In terms of austerity there are of course some that say that it hasn’t even yet bitten and things are going to get much worse. On the other hand if you look at something like the FTSE 250, which is often seen as the best barometer for the UK economy. In 2012 that was up 22 percent. So without dismissing the fact that austerity is happening and will continue to happen, there are large pockets of the UK economy that are doing very well at the moment."

The task of monitoring the economy will fall to new Bank of England boss Mark Carney from July.

The OECD is still in favor of cutting the deficit but it warns the government may need to be flexible if growth proves hard to find.

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