Bank of England divided over more money printing

Bank of England policymakers are divided over the benefits of pumping more emergency cash into the economy in a bid to stimulate the recovery, documents revealed here Wednesday. Some members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) questioned the impact that further quantitative easing - also known as money printing - would have on the broader economy, minutes of its October meeting said. Meanwhile, the committee expects rising energy, utility and agricultural commodity prices to filter through to ramp up the cost of living later in the year. The nine-strong panel, chaired by Bank governor Sir Mervyn King, voted unanimously in favour of holding interest rates at 0.5% and maintaining QE at 375 billion pound. While inflation fell to its lowest level in nearly three years in September, economists have warned gas and electricity price hikes, as well as the impact of US droughts on food prices, will lift the rate of inflation in the months ahead. Vicky Redwood, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, told local media that it was a "close call" whether the majority of MPC members will vote for more QE next month. She said: "Although the vote to leave policy unchanged this month was unanimous, there were 'differences of view' regarding the need for more QE further ahead. "Some thought there was still considerable scope for QE to provide further stimulus, whilst others were less convinced and emphasised the limits to what monetary policy could achieve." The committee found that there had been signs that the lessening of the real income squeeze had begun to feed through to household spending growth. The MPC said slowing activity in the rest of the world had been a drag on UK exports and hampered the rebalancing process, but recent policy announcements in the eurozone had reduced the risk of a sharper slowdown. The Bank's 80 billion pound Funding for Lending scheme was showing "encouraging" signs as surveys revealed an increased availability of loans at higher loan-to-value ratios. Turning to QE, the minutes said some members felt that there was still "considerable scope" for asset purchases to provide further stimulus. But it added that other members "questioned the magnitude" of the impact QE would have on "the broader economy at the present juncture". The committee said it would have the opportunity to gauge the impact of past and prospective policy actions at home and abroad over the next month, in the context of preparing its forecasts for the November Inflation Report. Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said he still expects a further 50 billion pound boost to QE next month. He said: "With any recovery currently looking feeble and fragile despite a highly likely return to gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the third quarter, we lean towards the view that a majority of MPC members will decide to give the economy a further helping hand in November."