Foreign Exchange Insights and Next Week
Expect the Unexpected in Global Financial Markets and Do Something about It
February 6, 2014
It’s still early times for 2014, but a pattern of unexpected developments has already surfaced. Lower long-term interest rates, weaker share prices, a firmer yen, a resilient euro, and a string of central bank rate hikes despite subdued global growth and inflation authorized instead to stop falling emerging market currencies were surprising. The configuration of […] More
Central Bank Watch
Czech National Bank: No Changes
February 6, 2014
A statement from Czech monetary officials reaffirms the existing ultra-loose monetary policy. A virtual zero interest rate policy has been in place since a 20-basis point cut of the two-week repo rate to 0.05% in November 2012. There were also cuts of 25 bps each in June and September of that year. In November 2013, […] More
Central Bank Watch
Central Bank of the Philippines
February 6, 2014
Officials at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas kept their key reverse repo rate at 3.5%, its level since October 2012. The repo rate stays at 5.5%, and reserve ratios were not changed, either. A released statement today reads very similarly to the previous one from December 12. Inflation is called manageable even though currently higher “due […] More
Central Bank Watch
ECB Seeks More Information before Taking Any Action
February 6, 2014
The European Central Bank Governing Council did not ease policy as some market players were expecting and others hoping. It did not back away from its macroeconomic outlook and its forward guidance. Officials expect “a prolonged period of low inflation, to be followed by a gradual upward movement towards inflation rates below, but close to, […] More
Central Bank Watch
Bank of England
February 6, 2014
No changes were made in the 0.5% Bank Rate, the level since March 2009, or the Asset Purchase Program of GBP 375 billion, whose limit was reached by early November 2012. Officials released a statement that shed no informative insight into the discussion at this month’s meeting, but publication of the quarterly Inflation Report next […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Waiting to See if ECB Eases Today
February 6, 2014
The euro is 0.1% softer against the dollar ahead of a key monthly meeting of the ECB Governing Council, which meets amid mounting concern about deflation. Meanwhile, the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee as expected just announced no changes in its 0.5% Bank Rate or in the GBP 375 billion ceiling on its asset […] More
