EU proposes joint gas buying and curbs on energy price spikes – business live

European Commission proposes mechanism to cap excessive and volatile" gas price moves, and to let member countries start jointly buying gas

Today's bond market stability follows a report that the Bank of England is set to delay the sale of billions of pounds of government debt.

The pause, reported in the Financial Times, is meant to foster greater stability in gilt markets following the UK's failed mini" Budget.

The Financial Times has learnt that the bank's top officials have come to this view after judging the gilts market to be very distressed" in recent weeks, a view backed by its Financial Policy Committee.

Investors have also warned that the central bank's plans to begin selling bonds in its portfolio at the end of this month could destabilise markets.

Newly parachuted in UK finance minister, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has succeeded in appeasing bond market vigilantes for now. UK government borrowing costs are hovering near yesterday's low with 10 year gilt yields still below 4%. But the hard won truce could fall apart in the weeks to come, if his spending plans don't deliver the detail investors crave for economic policy uncertainty to abate.

This is likely to be why the Bank of England is reported to be further delaying the sale of billions of pounds of government bonds which it was originally due to offload earlier this month. It's clear the bank is still unnerved by the potential for fresh instability in gilt markets given that so much uncertainty still remains about the government's fiscal plans