BoE Halts Long-Term Bond Sales Amid Global Sell-Off

The Bank of England has announced it will halt sales of UK government bonds for the next six months and permanently stop selling long-dated bonds. The decision is part of a plan to reduce its £488 billion bond holdings by 2034.

As reported, the move comes just days after the yield on 30-year UK government bonds reached its highest level since 1998 amid a global bond sell-off. Some have argued that the BoE's bond-selling policy causes the central bank's losses to be realised more quickly, while others claim the impact could ultimately be borne by taxpayers.

BoE Governor Andrew Bailey said the central bank was providing clarity on the direction of its quantitative tightening (QT) policy. The plan involves retaining most of the bonds held for monetary policy purposes rather than selling them, while reducing the remainder over the next eight years.