Decision on more QE next month - Bean

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England has not halted its quantitative easing programme and will decide whether to continue next month, Charles Bean, the central bank's deputy governor said in a newspaper interview.

The Bank surprised markets last week by not announcing any extension to its 125 billion pound asset-buying scheme, leading many analysts to conclude that the central bank was stopping its quantitative easing programme.

Bean told the Scotsman newspaper the Monetary Policy Committee was still debating whether more needed to be done.

"We haven't paused on QE. We are committed to buying 125 billion pounds of assets that will take us through to August," he was quoted as saying.

"We decided last week there was no need to make a firm decision, and we could afford to wait. August is when we publish papers on the economy and it's a natural point at which to take stock."

The Bank publishes its quarterly forecasts on the economy in August and MPC members will have the new projections in time for their meeting at the start of the month.

Bean, who has been doing a series of interviews across the country, reiterated that it was difficult to assess the immediate impact of QE but cautioned that it would take time.

"We have to be patient. It won't have an immediate effect," he was quoted as saying.

But he said there were signs the economy was past its worst.