While this eased strain across financial markets and paved the way for lower borrowing costs, the programme’s consequences are now being felt as the Bank offloads bonds at a considerable loss.
This has drawn scrutiny as the Treasury is forced to pick up the tab from the Bank’s losses, burdening the taxpayer with billions of pounds worth of headwinds each year.
According to calculations at Deutsche Bank, the sale of bonds through QT is costing the Treasury around £11.6bn per year.
Therefore, if the process is brought to a halt by the Bank later this year as economists widely expect, then this will provide Sir Keir with some immediate financial firepower when he needs it most.
So far, the Labour leader’s economic manifesto has come under scrutiny for a lack of ambition, while others have questioned whether its policies are fully funded.
Any further headroom from halting QT could ease financial pressures considerably, as noted by Goldman Sachs in a recent report.
Emmanouil Karimalis, an analyst at UBS, said: “We think there is a strong case to stop active QT.”
It adds to the potential economic good news landing in the Labour leader’s lap.
Paul Dales at Capital Economics predicts GDP growth will accelerate to 1pc in 2024 and 1.5pc in 2025, in a stark turnaround from last year’s brief recession.
He also expects inflation to drop to 1.5pc by the end of the year, which will pave the way for the Bank to lower interest rates from 5.25pc to 3pc.
Mr Dales said as and when the Bank ends active QT, it will be good news for the Government’s finances.
“At that point there would no longer be extra losses being transferred from the Treasury to the Bank, so there would be a little bit more money,” he said.
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
