Central Bank Watch
National Bank of Serbia
May 16, 2013
Serbian monetary officials on May 14 cut the one-week repo rate by 50 basis points to 11.25%. This reduction reverses policy gears, following a string of eight hikes between June 2012 and February 2013 totaling 225 bps. The backdrop for those earlier increases was a sharp acceleration of inflation from less than 3% to more […] More
Central Bank Watch
Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey: Different Measures for Different Needs
May 16, 2013
Amid slack economic growth and inasmuch as CPI inflation had declined to 6.1% in April from 7.3% in March and 7.0% in February, Turkish monetary officials reduced the one-week repo rate to 4.5% from 5.0%, which matches the cut in April and exceeds the 25-bp move that analysts were anticipating. Because officials also fear that […] More
Central Bank Watch
Bank of Russia Left Refinancing Rate at 8.25%
May 16, 2013
Russia’s main monetary policy signal has been at 8.25% since the middle of September 2012 and will continue at that level. Last September saw the rate increase by 25 basis points, reversing a 25-bp cut made late in December 2011. Government officials had urged the Bank of Russia’s Board of Directors to sanction an ease […] More
Foreign Exchange Insights and Next Week
Strengthening Aura Surrounding the Dollar
May 16, 2013
One hears increasingly the opinion that the dollar may be in a multi-year period of strength. Optimism rests on several pillars. One is the broadness of the dollar’s recent advance. Across-the board appreciation has transpired since this time last Thursday, and important barriers have been pushed aside during the statement week such as 100 yen, […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Another Tumble in the Price of Gold
May 16, 2013
Commodities continue to lose favor. Gold dropped 1.7% overnight to $1372.70 per ounce. Oil fell by 0.9% to $93.43 per barrel. The commodity-sensitive currencies of Australia and New Zealand lost 0.9% and 1.0% against the U.S. currency overnight, which also advanced by 0.3% against the yen and loonie, 0.2% versus the euro, Swissie and sterling […] More
