The Bank of England has increased the size of its asset purchase programme to £275bn.

The increase, up from £200bn, will be financed by the central bank reserves. The Bank expects the asset purchase programme to take four months to complete. It is hoped that this increase in assets will keep inflation on track.

Inflation currently stands at 4.5 per cent and is expected to rise to 5 per cent but the Bank is worried in the medium term it may fall to below 2 per cent.

Writing to the Chancellor George Osborne, chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee Mervyn King said: “The pace of global expansion has slackened, especially in the UK’s main export markets.

“Vulnerabilities associated with the indebtedness of some euro-area sovereigns and banks have resulted in severe strains in bank funding and financial markets.

“The squeeze on households’ real income and the fiscal consolidation are likely to continue to weigh on domestic spending, while the strains in bank funding markets may also inhibit the availability of credit to consumers and businesses.”

The decision-split will not be known until the MPC minutes are released on 19 October.

Previously, only US academic Adam Posen had been in favour of more quantitative easing. He first called for an increase back in October 2010.

Azad Zangana, European economist at Schroders, said: “In our view, the restarting of quantitative easing will boost confidence and asset prices in financial markets but we remain skeptical over its power to restart lending and therefore have a meaningful impact on the real economy.”

Interest rates remained at 0.5 per cent.