Quantitative easing has been one of the main weapons in the armoury of central banks this year as they battle to head off deflation and pump money into the banking system. Nowhere has the programme been more aggressive than in the UK.

In just 17 weeks, the Bank of England has bought £107bn of gilts. On Wednesday it will increase that figure by £3bn to £110bn – 17 per cent of the entire market in tradeable gilts.