UK raises asset purchase target to 895 bln pounds

The Bank of England increased its already huge bond-buying stimulus on Thursday by a further 150 billion pounds ($195 billion)as it sought to cushion Britain's struggling economy against the hit from a second coronavirus lockdown.

The BoE raised the size of its asset purchase programme to 895 billion pounds, 50 billion more than expected by most economists in a Reuters poll. The central bank kept its benchmark Bank Rate at 0.1%, also as expected in the poll, while it looks into the feasibility of taking borrowing costs below zero for the first time.