Top fund managers urge Bank of England to stop selling gilts into rocky debt markets

LONDON (Reuters) -Asset managers whose companies oversee more than $1.5 trillion are urging the Bank of England to scrap bond sales they believe place unnecessary strain on Britain's government debt, while they also rack up tens of billions of pounds of taxpayer costs. As finance minister Rachel Reeves' annual budget looms in November, Britain's long-term borrowing costs are the highest among G7 advanced economies. Sticky inflation and fiscal worries are depressing the value of bonds, known as gilts, while the BoE is also actively selling its holdings into weak UK debt markets, recording losses.