National Bank of Serbia
Second Serbian Central Bank Rate Cut of 2019 Announced Today
August 8, 2019
The National Bank of Serbia’s Executive Board lowered the policy interest rate by 25 basis points. There had also been a reduction of that size last month. At 2.5% the rate is at a 10+ year low. But officials stressed a cautious approach in light of “global trade tensions, a possibility that monetary policy decisions […] More
More Central Banks Cut Interest Rates, Persistent Trade Tensions, and Lower Inflation
August 8, 2019
Central bank interest rates were cut by 25 basis points today in the Philippines and Serbia. Earlier this week, rates had been reduced by central banks in India (35 bps), Thailand (25 bps), and New Zealand (50 bps). The common thread in these moves is the trade war unleashed by U.S. President Trump, the weaker […] More
Brexit and Tariff Man Leading the Overnight News
April 9, 2019
A decision is needed tomorrow on whether and how long to grant Britain another extension on Brexit talks. In the meantime, Prime Minister May today will be holding talks with her German and French counterparts. She wants a short extension to June 30th but seems no closer to forging a parliamentary coalition behind any plan. […] More
ECB Policy Shift Drives Stocks and Sovereign Debt Yields Lower, Dollar and Yen Higher
March 7, 2019
The Governing Council of the European Central Bank revised projected growth and inflation significantly downward, postponed the first possible interest rate hike to beyond 2019, announced a third round of quarterly targeted longer-term TLTROs to help “preserve favorable bank lending conditions and the smooth transmission of monetary policy,” retained a negative risk balance in spite […] More
Global Slowdown Concerns Remain in Play
January 10, 2019
FOMC minutes yesterday revealed less clarity about the future path of the fed funds target. Some committee members had been hesitant to endorse December’s rate hike, the ninth of this tightening cycle, although a consensus persists that a few more increase are probable in the future. Ultimately, policy will be reactive to the data, and […] More
More Risk Aversion Lends Support to Dollar
October 8, 2018
The dollar has risen today by 0.8% against the Chinese yuan, 0.6% relative to sterling, 0.4% versus the euro, 0.3% vis-a-vis the loonie, and 0.1% against the Swiss franc and Mexican peso. Japan (Sports Day) and Canada (Thanksgiving) are observing holiday closures, but China reopened for business following a one-week observance of the Communist Revolution […] More
Declines in Kiwi, Ruble and Turkish Lira
August 9, 2018
The dollar advanced overnight by 1.6% against the New Zealand dollar, 0.9% versus the Russian ruble, and some 2.5% vis-a-vis the Turkish lira. Not only did the latest review of New Zealand monetary policy end with leaving the Official Cash Rate at 1.75%, half its level prior to the June 2015 first of 7 reductions, […] More
National Bank of Serbia
June 7, 2018
Serbia’s key interest rate has been cut twice already this year by 25 basis points each in March and April, but the latest review left the rate unchanged at 3.0%. According to a statement from the Executive Board of the central bank there, the earlier easing should help lift April’s 1.1% on-year inflation rate, and […] More
National Bank of Serbia
May 10, 2018
Serbian monetary officials already had cut their policy interest rate by 50 basis points this year via two 25-bp moves in March and April. The half-percentage point reduction this year matched the total annual declines engineered in both 2016 and 2017 and followed a combined 500 bps in 2014-15 and 275 bps in the final […] More
National Bank of Serbia
April 12, 2018
The latest in a multiyear series of cuts in Serbia’s key policy interest rate has reduced such to 3.0% from 3.25%. There was also a 25-basis point cut in the March monthly meeting and, before that, a 50-basis point cut last October. Previous rate cuts totaled 2.75 percentage points in the final eight months of […] More
