The U.K. continued to try to stave off a financial and economic crisis on Wednesday as the country’s central bank carried out emergency buying of government bonds to stabilize a spiraling debt market, adding pressure on the government of new Prime Minister Liz Truss.
The central bank’s surprise move to spend 1 billion pounds buying U.K. government debt spurred a rally in the bond market, and helped the embattled pound gain slightly against the U.S. dollar, though it was still down against the euro. But the intervention—to stave off an imminent pension crisis—underscored the risks that continuing market turbulence poses to the U.K. financial system and economy.