Central Bank Watch
Reserve Bank of New Zealand
January 28, 2015
The latest Board meeting with a decision to keep New Zealand’s official cash rate at 3.5%, the level since the fourth straight 25-basis point hike lf 2014. The four increases, respectively in March, April, June and July, followed a three-year span with no change. Today’s statement was more dovish than the previous one because of […] More
Deeper Analysis
FOMC Statement
January 28, 2015
The January 27-28 monetary policy statement from the Federal Open Market Committee carried no dissents, unlike the previous statement in which R. Fisher, Plosser and Kocherlakota each had some sort of disagreement with the majority. The statement upgrades the pace of the economic expansion to solid, observes a further decline in labor market underutilization, predicts […] More
Central Bank Watch
Monetary Authority of Singapore Announces Unscheduled Tweak of its Currency Policy
January 28, 2015
Interest rate policy in Singapore is subordinated to a targeted exchange rate trading corridor, defined by a midpoint, a fixed trading bandwidth, and the slope of the corridor. Normally, policy is reviewed in April and October. However, after revising projected CPI inflation down a full percentage point to plus-or-minus 0.5% this year, officials flattened the […] More
Central Bank Watch
Bank Negara Malaysia
January 28, 2015
The past five changes in Malaysia’s overnight policy interest rate have been hikes, each of 25 basis points, administered in March 2010, May 2010, July 2010, May 2011 and, most recently, July 2014. Officials at this week’s policy meeting agreed to keep the 3.25% rate level, calling the monetary stance both accommodative and appropriate. The […] More
Central Bank Watch
Bank of Thailand Keeps Status Quo after 5-2 Vote
January 28, 2015
Thailand’s policy interest rate will remain at 2.0%, its level since a 25-basis point cut last March. A debate over the implications for inflation of lower oil prices is described in a released statement. According to the 5-person majority that favored the present level of monetary accommodation over cutting the interest further, A marked fall […] More
Central Bank Watch
FOMC Preview
January 28, 2015
This week’s FOMC meeting marks the end of the first year with Janet Yellen as Fed Chairperson. A change in policy settings is not foreseen, and the market consensus continues to anticipate an initial rate hike happening around the middle of this year. One new element in thinking could be the appreciation of the dollar, […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Spotlight Today Belongs to Central Banks
January 28, 2015
Financial markets await the FOMC statement due at 14:00 EST (19:00 GMT). Meaningful changes are not anticipated. No press conference is scheduled afterward. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) tweaked monetary policy after its first unscheduled policy meeting in thirteen years. Ordinarily policy, which is oriented around the management of the currency rather than a […] More
