Bank of England warns of economic 'headwinds' 23 January 2013 Last updated at 11:31 "Substantial headwinds" to economic recovery remain, including the value of the pound, the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has said. It said the "sterling real exchange rate might be above the level compatible with the necessary rebalancing of the economy." The minutes of its January meeting showed it voted 8 to 1 not to extend its quantitative easing (QE) programme. The Bank has injected £375bn into the UK financial system. "The existence of a significant current account deficit at a time of depressed activity and considerable spare capacity could imply that the sterling real exchange rate was higher than the level compatible with external balance," the minutes said. The pound has risen 2.3% against the US dollar, making exports more expensive to the world's largest economy. It has fallen more than 6% over the the last six months against the euro, which should make exports to continental Europe cheaper and imports more expensive. Last Updated at 23 Jan 2013, 13:00 The minutes showed that the policymakers of the UK's central bank were concerned by "the drag to activity from fiscal consolidation, a further squeeze in household real incomes, and the deterioration in UK competitiveness over the past couple of years." Monetary Policy Committee member David Miles was the only member to vote to increase the size of the asset purchase programme - by a further £25bn to a total of £400bn. He argued that "the degree of slack in the economy... meant that it was probably possible to achieve higher output growth without causing any material inflationary pressure." Official figures for fourth-quarter economic growth are due to be released on 25 January, which may raise the prospect of a triple-dip recession in the UK. In the minutes, the Bank added to those expectations by saying that "the unwind from the Olympic Games was expected to depress headline GDP growth significantly in the fourth quarter." The UK economy grew by 1% in the three months to September, helped by the Olympic Games during the summer. The economy is considered to have been in a recessionary period since the financial crisis took hold in 2008.