UK government borrowing costs fall as Bank of England outlines new bond-selling plan – as it happened
News Source
•Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:57:52 GMT
📰 What Happened
UK government borrowing costs fell after the Bank of England set out a new plan for selling government bonds. The Bank wants to sell bonds back to the government and wind down a scheme it started after the 2008 financial crisis.
Under the plan, the pace of bond selling will slow to £46bn a year. Investors welcomed the news, and the cost of UK government debt dropped. The Bank also left interest rates unchanged.
🔍 The Backstory
After the 2008 crash, the Bank bought hundreds of billions of pounds of government bonds to pump money into the economy. That tool is called quantitative easing. Taking the money back out again is called quantitative tightening.
Selling bonds too quickly can push borrowing costs up, which is a problem for a government that has to pay interest on its debts. The Bank's own losses on the scheme have also cost the public money.
🎯 Why It Matters
Government borrowing costs feed into mortgages, savings rates and public spending. Cheaper borrowing can mean lower bills for ordinary families.
UK government borrowing costs fell after the Bank of England set out a new plan for selling government bonds. The Bank wants to sell bonds back to the government and wind down a scheme it started after the 2008 financial crisis.
Under the plan, the pace of bond selling will slow to £46bn a year. Investors welcomed the news, and the cost of UK government debt dropped. The Bank also left interest rates unchanged.
After the 2008 crash, the Bank bought hundreds of billions of pounds of government bonds to pump money into the economy. That tool is called quantitative easing. Taking the money back out again is called quantitative tightening.
Selling bonds too quickly can push borrowing costs up, which is a problem for a government that has to pay interest on its debts. The Bank's own losses on the scheme have also cost the public money.
Government borrowing costs feed into mortgages, savings rates and public spending. Cheaper borrowing can mean lower bills for ordinary families.