Central Bank Watch
Bank of Israel Engineers Unexpected Interest Rate Cut
July 28, 2014
Israel’s key lending interest rate was lowered to 0.5% from 0.75%. This was the eleventh such cut since September 2011 and the second of 2014, the other being done five months ago in February. A released statement justifies the action by citing continuing sub-target CPI inflation, a 0.8% trade-weighted rise of the shekel since the […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Currencies Again Unaffected by Festering Geopolitical Tensions
July 28, 2014
A fleeting cease fire in Gaza has been broken. The U.S. State Department claims to have images of artillery fire from Russian soil against Ukrainian forces. Spokesmen for Japanese Prime Minister Abe deny rumors of cabinet changes. The dollar is unchanged against the yen, loonie, Australian dollar and sterling. The greenback has edged 0.1% higher […] More
Foreign Exchange Insights and Next Week
Next Week
July 25, 2014
Central bank interest rate policy meetings are being held next week in the United States, Czech Republic, Israel, and the Philippines. There is no press conference after the FOMC announcement. Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda and Board member Ishida speak publicly during the week. The Swiss market is closed next Friday to observe the national […] More
Central Bank Watch
Central Bank of the Russian Federation
July 25, 2014
There’s no such thing as a free war, and a direct consequence of President Putin’s reckless behavior with neighboring Ukraine has been a weak ruble that’s imported inflation and forced the Russian central bank to tighten monetary policy. This in turn points to slower economic growth. The key central bank interest rate was earlier hiked […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Japanese CPI, German IFO and Russian Rate Hike Fail to Move Dollar Much
July 25, 2014
The dollar is unchanged against the yuan and sterling and firmer by 0.3% relative to the kiwi, 0.2% versus the loonie, and 0.1% against the euro, Swissie, Australian dollar and yen. Share prices rose 1.1% in Japan and China, 0.4% in New Zealand and South Korea, and 0.3% in Hong Kong, but they have fallen […] More
Foreign Exchange Insights and Next Week
Governments Challenged
July 24, 2014
It a conventional to think that currencies are apt to weaken when governments fail to meet important challenges properly. Governments these days are struggling to deliver prosperity, peace and world respect. Soft productivity growth is one of America’s central problems. It prevents faster growth in jobs from boosting GDP growth, and it could force the […] More
Central Bank Watch
Reserve Bank of New Zealand Engineers a Fourth Interest Rate Hike, Then Declares a Pause
July 24, 2014
As it had done at the three previous meetings, the RBNZ lifted New Zealand’s Official Cash Rate by 25 basis points. The new 3.5% level compares with 2.5% during the three years to mid-March, and now it is time to put policy on pause for “a period of assessment before interest rates adjust further towards […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
PMI’s, Japanese Trade, British Retail Sales, and an Important New Zealand Statement
July 24, 2014
Preliminary purchasing manager survey results for July showed An 18-month high in Chinese manufacturing growth. Faster euro area growth especially in the services but also manufacturing. Slower manufacturing growth in Japan. Japanese customs trade data for June also were disappointing. There was an unadjusted JPY 822 billion deficit, which was the 24th shortfall in a […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
PMI’s, Japanese Trade, British Retail Sales, and an Important New Zealand Statement
July 24, 2014
Preliminary purchasing manager survey results for July showed An 18-month high in Chinese manufacturing growth. Faster euro area growth especially in the services but also manufacturing. Slower manufacturing growth in Japan. Japanese customs trade data for June also were disappointing. There was an unadjusted JPY 822 billion deficit, which was the 24th shortfall in a […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Aussie Dollar Lifted by Higher-than-Forecast CPI
July 23, 2014
Australian consumer prices climbed 0.5% on quarter and to a nine-quarter high of 3.0% on year, which coincides with the 2-3% target ceiling. The trimmed mean measure of core CPI inflation rose to 2.9% from 2.6% in the first quarter and final quarter of 2013. There seems little chance of a further monetary policy easing, […] More
