UK Economists Urge Healey to Press Bank of England on Gilt Sales
Economists are urging UK Chancellor John Healey to press the Bank of England to slow or halt gilt sales ahead of this week's Monetary Policy Committee meeting. The committee is expected to decide both Bank Rate and the annual pace of bond sales.
The current 10-year gilt yield has passed 5.4%, its highest since July 2007, and the 30-year rose to 5.93%, its highest since March 1998. The market conditions sharpen the argument for slowing or halting gilt sales, with oil above $100 a barrel.
According to the Bank of England's Asset Purchase Facility Quarterly Report for 2026 Q2, the MPC voted in September 2025 to reduce holdings by £70bn over the year to September 2026. The report also confirms that five sale operations in Q2 cut the stock by £6.1bn to £521.8bn at 30 June.
The unwind of quantitative easing is crystallizing losses for the exchequer, just as borrowing costs sit at multi-decade highs. Critics argue that limiting short-term government costs is not within the MPC's remit, and some have called for the Bank to scrap active sales outright.