MPC close to doing more

There is a reasonable chance that quantitative easing (QE) is resumed at this month’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. The Committee is taking a more flexible approach to the inflation target. Three members voted for more QE in February. And last week’s CIPS manufacturing survey reignited fears of a triple-dip. A sharp drop in the services survey would probably be enough to tip the balance to doing more. But if the survey holds up, more QE may be a month or two away. The weak economy is also encouraging more innovative thinking on how to lift output.