Central Bank Watch
Bank of Japan’s June Policy Decisions
June 18, 2021
The Bank of Japan left its short-term interest rate and 10-year JGB yield targets unchanged at -0.1% and “around zero percent,” respectively. Ceilings on purchases of ETFs, REITs, commercial paper and corporate bonds were not changed. The special pandemic relief lending facility was extended by a half year to the end of March 2022, and […] More
Brazilian Central Bank Rate Hike
June 17, 2021
The Central Bank of Brazil’s Selic interest rate as expected was raised by 75 basis points to 4.25%. That move had been expected and follows similar incremental moves undertaken in March and May. A released statement moreover signals another 75 basis point hike at the committee’s next scheduled review and a likely rate level of […] More
Powell’s Press Conference
June 16, 2021
Financial markets exhibited their sharpest movement of the day during the first half of Chairman Powell’s one-hour press conference. Little transpired in that half hour that was particularly illuminating, and so it appears investors were merely responding to the updated forecasts that show the fed funds rate starting to climb out of the cellar in […] More
FOMC Statement and Projections
June 16, 2021
The FOMC statement is almost identical to the previous one in late April, except that it acknowledges vaccination progress reducing the drag of Covid on the economy. However, the thought that some Covid risks continue was not dropped. The most newsworthy part of the updated projections involves end-year forecasts for the appropriate federal funds target. […] More
FOMC Preview
June 16, 2021
The issue at stake at this week’s monetary policy review meeting is whether officials are going to imply that the onset for the tapering of policy stimulus may be less distant than they have implied previously. Inflation in the United States has accelerated more sharply than officials were anticipating. Perceptions of inflation and expected inflation […] More
Reserve Bank of Australia Maintaining Monetary Accommodation
June 1, 2021
Board members at the Reserve Bank of Australia left the Official Cash Rate at a record low of 0.10%, its level since a 15-basis point cut six months ago. This was the expected decision and was made in spite of a red-hot property market. A released statement from Governor Lowe reaffirms the commitment to keeping […] More
FOMC Statement and Powell Press Conference
April 28, 2021
Nothing remarkable emerged from the Federal Reserve today. Monetary policy settings were not changed. The fed funds interest rate target of 0-0.25% was kept, and and so were the amounts of Treasury securities and MBS that the central bank will buy each month. Forward guidance was likewise retained as it’s been. Officials need to see […] More
FOMC Preview
April 28, 2021
In the six weeks since the last FOMC meeting, the dollar has fallen 1.3% against the euro and 0.3% versus the yen. The 10-year Treasury yield is now three basis points lower than then although it has been rising lately. The Dow Jones Industrials has risen 3.0%, while the price of West Texas Intermediate crude […] More
Full Percentage Point Interest Rate Hike by Georgia’s Central Bank
April 28, 2021
The National Bank of Georgia, like central banks in Russia and Ukraine earlier, today announced its second interest rate increase of 2021. Georgia’s one-week refinancing rate was lifted by 100 basis points to 9.5%, exceeding the end-2019 level of 9.0%. The policy rate had been reduced three times last year between April and August and […] More
Bank of Japan Makes No Change in Monetary Policy but Revised Projected Growth Higher
April 27, 2021
This month’s meeting of the Bank of Japan Policy Board coincides with an updated publication of the Outlook for Economic Activity and Growth. The settings of the “Quantitative and Qualitative Easing with Yield Curve Control” was introduced initially in September 2016. The targets are -0.1% for short-term interest rates, “around zero percent give-or-take 50 basis […] More
