Central Bank Watch
Central Bank of Chile Maintains 3.25% Monetary Policy Rate
January 13, 2011
Chile’s central bank ended a string of seven consecutive monthly interest rate hikes totaling 275 basis points to 3.25%. Some analysts had projected an eighth consecutive increase after news earlier this month that CPI inflation in Chile reached 3.0% last year, matching the upper target limit. However, officials have become increasingly worried about commodity-fueled peso […] More
Central Bank Watch
ECB Monitoring Inflation More Closely
January 13, 2011
The ECB did not let above-target CPI inflation for the first time since November 2008 go unanswered. By unanimous vote, they inserted the following language into their press conference statement: We see evidence of short-term upward pressure on overall inflation, mainly owing to energy prices, but this has not so far affected our assessment that […] More
Central Bank Watch
Bank of England Leaves Policy Settings Unchanged as Expected
January 13, 2011
The Bank of England web site has confirmed that the Monetary Policy Committee left the Bank Rate at 0.5%, its level since March 2009, and did not expand the GBP 200 billion ceiling on the Asset Purchase Program, which was completely met at the end of January 2010. The Bank’s statement, as usual, said nothing […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Kiwi Up, Swissy Weaker
January 13, 2011
The U.S. dollar advanced 0.7% against the Swiss franc but softened 0.5% against the New Zealand dollar. The greenback otherwise edged up 0.2% against the Canadian dollar and 0.1% versus sterling and the yen but slid by 0.1% against the euro, yuan and Aussie dollar. Officials fixed the yuan at its strongest U.S. dollar level […] More
