It’s up by 1.8% for the day, hitting highs above €1.0839 - althought that still remains short of levels hit just yesterday when the pound slumped. Unlike many news organisations, our reporting is free and available for everyone. We need your support to keep delivering quality, unbiased, factual journalism that’s open and independent. The events of 2020 so far have demonstrated the crucial importance of clear, reliable information that explains, in steady measured tones, what is happening. We check facts, meticulously source information, explain the background and keep things in perspective, so that readers can use our work to make decisions about their life, health and security. For as little as $1 you can support us – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. Make a contribution - The Guardian The Bank of England’s move has boosted demand for UK government bonds. Yields, which move inversely to prices, have fallen. From Reuters: Yields on British government bonds, known as gilts, fell sharply after the BoE move. Two-year gilt yields were last down 15 basis points [0.15 percentage points] on the day at around 0.19%, while 10-year gilt yields were almost 4 bps lower at 0.76% reversing earlier rises. Facebook Twitter 9m ago 14:50 The FTSE 100 is now gaining: it’s up by 0.6% for the day. Sterling is up by 0.4% against the US dollar. The quantitative easing purchaes will focus on UK government bonds, the Bank said: The majority of additional asset purchases will comprise UK government bonds. The purchases announced today will be completed as soon as is operationally possible, consistent with improved market functioning. The Bank will issue further guidance to the market in due course. Facebook Twitter 12m ago 14:47 The rate cut takes the Bank of England’s base rate to its lowest in history, at 0.1%. The Bank also announced another £200bn in bond buying under the quantitative easing programme, and the extension of the term funding scheme, which encourages banks to pass on the benefits of interest rate cuts to companies and households. The unscheduled meeting of the monetary policy committee was only held today. Facebook Twitter 16m ago 14:43 The Bank says the cut has come in response to tightening financial conditions. Over recent days, and in common with a number of other advanced economy bond markets, conditions in the UK gilt market have deteriorated as investors have sought shorter-dated instruments that are closer substitutes for highly liquid central bank reserves. As a consequence, UK and global financial conditions have tightened. Facebook Twitter 19m ago 14:40 Here is the link to the Bank of England’s full statement. Facebook Twitter 22m ago 14:38 Bank England cuts interest rates to 0.1% The Bank of England has cut interest rates to 0.1%, in a second emergency cut prompted by the coronavirus outbreak. This is from the statement just published: At its special meeting on 19 March, the MPC judged that a further package of measures was warranted to meet its statutory objectives. It therefore voted unanimously to increase the Bank of England’s holdings of UK government bonds and sterling non-financial investment-grade corporate bonds by £200 billion to a total of £645 billion, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, and to reduce Bank Rate by 15 basis points to 0.1%. The Committee also voted unanimously that the Bank of England should enlarge the TFSME scheme, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves. More to come... Facebook Twitter 34m ago 14:25 Newsflash: US stock market indices have staged a reversal, and all three major indices are now positive for the day. The S&P 500 is now up by 0.6% for the day. The FTSE 100 is still down by 0.6%, at about 5,046 points. That move represents a recovery from earlier’s move down, however. France’s Cac 40 is about flat, while Germany’s Dax is up by 0.8%.