The British pound staged a solid rebound on Monday and ended as the strongest of the majors after the Bank of England published a paper in which they discussed expanding their Asset Purchase Facility (APF) to include purchases of secured commercial paper. The goal would be to allow greater access to short-term working capital for firms that make a “material contribution” to the UK economy. As it stands, the BOE has already announced a quantitative easing program in which it will buy up to125 billion pounds worth of corporate and government securities. This program is already under way and should be completed within two months, but it isn’t entirely clear how much more the BOE plans on spending for an expansion of the APF, or if the expansion will actually happen. The central bank is currently inviting comments on the paper up until June 19, indicating that decisions and details will not be released until the end of the month, at the very earliest. Indeed, this makes the release of the BOE’s June meeting minutes on June 17, as well as the BOE’s next policy announcement on July 9 all the more important, as the news may provide further insight into the central bank’s plans.
Related Article: British Pound Weekly Trading Forecast
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