BoE's Ramsden says UK gilt market trading remains orderly

Bank of England Deputy Governor for Markets and Banking, Dave Ramsden attends a Bank of England news conference, in the City of London

LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden said the central bank was keeping a close eye on financial markets after recent volatility, but that trading in British government bonds remained orderly.

In March last year the BoE restarted its quantitative easing bond purchases programme after gilt prices dropped sharply as investors sought the safety of U.S. dollar assets at the start of the COVID pandemic.

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"We have a dashboard of indicators that we look at, things like bid-offer spreads and the like. Looking at gilt market functioning as of now, it is looking orderly. But we will obviously keep a close eye on that," he said.

Ramsden said he believed the sharp rise in British government bond yields reflected a fall in prices for U.S. Treasuries and a better outlook for the British economy, rather than investor concerns about future inflation in Britain.

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(Reporting by David Milliken; editing by Michael Holden)