Pimco chief Mohamed El-Erian on Thursday put low odds on a third round of U.S. monetary stimulus unless there is a "major further deterioration" in the U.S. economic outlook.
"We would assign a low probability (at) this stage to QE3 given the general recognition that the forward-looking cost-benefit analysis has shifted away from the potential benefits and toward greater costs and risk," El-Erian, co-chief investment officer of Pimco, said in a live blogging question and answer session on Reuters.com.
"Therefore, it would take a major further deterioration in the economic outlook, combined with a willingness by the Fed to take greater reputational and political risks," he said.
Pimco, which manages $1.2 trillion in assets, is home to the world's largest bond fund.
El-Erian's outlook follows the June 22 forecast of fellow Pimco Co-Chief Investment Officer Bill Gross that the Federal Reserve would hint at a third round of bond purchases, or QE3, at the Jackson Hole meeting in August.
Also on June 22, the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its forecast range for U.S. economic growth to 2.7-2.9 percent from 3.1-3.3 percent. It offered no hint it would offer further monetary support via quantitative easing.
At the end of June its quantitative easing program, which consisted of purchasing $600 billion worth of U.S. debt, also known as QE2, expired.
The row in Washington over the United States' debt ceiling and a potential downgrade to its AAA credit rating has drawn global attention to the health of the economy and whether it needs more government help.
The three major credit rating agencies have all put the U.S. government on warning that it faces a downgrade if debt payments are missed come August 2, when the U.S. Treasury says it will have exhausted its financial resources.
