Central Bank Watch
Central Bank of Chile’s Policy Rate Kept at 2.5%
September 14, 2017
Chile’s policy interest rate was cut four times by 25 basis points each in the first five months of 2017 and has been at 2.5% since May after holding at 3.5% all of last year. The latest policy review found little had change since last month’s meeting. Inflation of 1.9% is below the 3% medium-term […] More
Central Bank Watch
Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey
September 14, 2017
At this month’s review of Turkish monetary policy, no changes were made in the structure of interest rates. A tight stance is in place because of elevated total and core inflation. The one week repo rate has been at 8.0% since a 50-basis point increase last November. The marginal funding rate has been 9.25% since […] More
Central Bank Watch
National Bank of Ukraine
September 14, 2017
From August 2015 through May of this year, a nine-step series of rate reductions slashed Ukraine’s policy interest rate from 30% to 12.5%. That level now lies below headline CPI inflation of 16.2%, which lately has crept higher. Core inflation also has climbed, but expected inflation has stayed pretty stable, helped by a firmer hryvnia. […] More
Central Bank Watch
Swiss National Bank
September 14, 2017
After the September quarterly review of monetary policy, Swiss central bank authorities did not change their policy stance, slightly boosted projected inflation, cut the 2017 growth forecast to under 1% from 1.5%, and reiterated a commitment to a sub-zero interest rate and occasional foreign exchange intervention as needed to keep upward pressure on the franc […] More
Central Bank Watch
Bank of England Escalates Hint that Gradual Tightening is Coming Maybe Soon
September 14, 2017
A majority of MPC members judge that, if the economy continues to follow a path consistent with the prospect of a continued erosion of slack and a gradual rise in underlying inflationary pressure then, with the further lessening in the trade-off that this would imply, some withdrawal of monetary stimulus is likely to be appropriate […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Some Fresh Developments
September 14, 2017
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee did not change interest rates or asset purchase parameters but signaled a growing probability of a rate increase within a couple of months. In response, sterling rose 0.8% against the dollar, the 10-year British gilt yield climbed three basis points to 1.17%, and the Ftse stock index declined […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
A Pause in the Action
September 13, 2017
Movements in stocks, the dollar, and sovereign debt instruments have been minor so far today especially compared to those earlier in the week. The most significant action has been a drop in copper (1.5%) and other industrial metals. The dollar slipped 0.3% against the Australian and Canadian dollars, 0.2% versus the euro and 0.1% vis-a-vis […] More
Deeper Analysis
Second Quarter Japanese Growth Not as Robust as Estimated Initially
September 12, 2017
In mid-August, Japanese officials stunned markets with an announcement that real GDP had expanded 4.0%, the most since a 4.6% annualized quarterly increase in the first quarter of 2015. Analysts were at the time expecting a pace of around 2.5%, and it turns out the market consensus was correct after all. Growth was revised downward […] More
Central Bank Watch
Thoughts on Last Weeks ECB Meeting
September 12, 2017
At the European Central Bank Governing Council meeting last Thursday, officials did not modify its interest rate structure: a refinancing rate of zero percent flanked by a negative 0.40% deposit rate and a 0.25% marginal lending facility rate. Nor did the committee change the parameters of its asset purchase program that runs to December at […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
British Inflation Marching to a Faster Beat
September 12, 2017
The U.K. is not displaying the subdued inflation found in most other developed economies. The August batch of British price data revealed a 0.6% monthly advance in total consumer prices and an acceleration of its 12-month increase to 2.9% from 2.6% in both June and July. Core CPI inflation rose 0.3 percentage points (ppts) to […] More
