National Bank of Serbia
Lower Bond Yields, Mixed Dollar and Softer Equities in Face of Relentless Covid
November 12, 2020
Covid cases in the last 24 hours exceeded 600k and 140k globally and in the United States. Global and U.S. deaths from the illness over the past two days averaged more than 10k and 1.45k per day. While vaccine development seems to be making good progress, a new worry is that Covid’s ability to mutate […] More
Wednesday’s Bounce in U.S. Equities Appears Shortlived
September 10, 2020
Risk aversion is back in vogue. Share prices overnight plunged 5.0% in Indonesia and fell by 0.6% in Hong Kong and China. While India and Japan saw advances, stocks in Europe are down 0.6% in the U.K., 0.5% in Switzerland, and 0.2% in France. U.S. futures are also lower. The price of WTI oil fell […] More
Dollar and European Equities Slip
August 13, 2020
The dollar slid overnight by 0.6% against sterling, 0.4% versus the euro, 0.3% relative to the loonie, and 0.1% against the Swiss franc. Equities closed higher by 1.8% in Japan, 1.3% in Singapore and 0.7% in Taiwan, but trading in Europe has seen losses so far today of 1.1% in the U.K., 0.3% in Germany […] More
Covid Risk and Political Uncertainty on the Market’s Mind
July 9, 2020
The global count of Covid-19 cases rose 216 thousand in the past 24 hours to roughly 12.2 million. In that span, there was a record 62 thousand rise in U.S. reported cases, even as President Trump threatened repercussions to school districts that do not reopen in the fall. The Covid death count stands just above […] More
Serbia’s Central Bank Rate Cut 25 Basis points Further
June 11, 2020
The National Bank of Serbia Executive Board reduced its policy interest rate to a 9-year low of 1.25% from 1.50%. This easing follows cuts of 50 basis points in March and 25 bps in April. In a statement, officials believe that April marked the worst month for its economy and cite ” an environment of […] More
Disconnection Thursday Between Recessionary Data and Buoyant Stocks
May 7, 2020
Equities were mixed in Asia but have risen more impressively in Europe this morning. There were drops of 0.8% in India, 0.7% in Hong Kong and 0.2% in China but advances of 0.6% in Taiwan, 0.3% in Japan and 0.5% in New Zealand. The British Ftse, German Dax, and Paris Cac each have risen at […] More
Rate Cut in Serbia
April 9, 2020
The National Bank of Serbia’s policy rate was sliced by 25 basis points today to 1.5%. Previous cuts were engineered of 50 basis points in March and 25 bps each in July, August and November of 2019. “Indicators from the international environment signal that the negative effects of the virus on global economic growth are […] More
Improved Prospects for an Oil Production Agreement Sends Price Higher
April 9, 2020
West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 3.9%. Optimism is growing that Saudi Arabia and Russia will end their dispute over production cuts. Elsewhere among commodities, the price of gold advanced 1.5% overnight and is above $1,700 per ounce. Markets are gliding into the long Good Friday/Easter holiday. Mexico, New Zealand and Norway were shut this […] More
Central Bank Rate Cut of 50 Basis Points in Serbia
March 12, 2020
The National Bank of Serbia’s key policy rate was cut 50 basis points to 1.75% earlier today. A statement from the central bank’s Executive Board justifies the reduction as a “timely and adequate response to heightened uncertainty in the international environment triggered by the spread of Covid-19” and observes that several influential central banks like […] More
Coronavirus Takes Turn for the Worse, and British Cabinet Reshuffled Significantly
February 13, 2020
Thursday has been a difficult day in world financial markets, absorbing the news of an exponential increase in suspected coronavirus cases, as well as the unexpected quitting of British Chancellor of the Exchequer Javid and departure of several other members of Prime Minister Johnson’s cabinet. Share prices tumbled 1.6% in Great Britain, 1.2% in Spain, […] More
