Central Bank Watch
Bank of England Policymakers Disagree Over Future Inflation and How Much to Tighten
September 22, 2022
The Bank of England‘s policy meeting must have had a lively discussion. Only five of the nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee agreed with the 50-basis point size of today’s base rate hike. Three want a hike of 75 basis points, which is what street analysts were anticipating, but one member voted to raise […] More
Bigger Than Forecast Swiss Central Bank Interest Rate Hike
September 22, 2022
In raising Switzerland’s policy interest rate by a record 75 basis points to 0.50%, Swiss National Bank officials ended a period of negative interest rates stretching back to January 2015. Policy at the SNB is reviewed quarterly, and an initial 50-basis point hike was engineered at the prior meeting. More restraint seems likely: SNB President […] More
Down the Rabbit Hole of Turkish Monetary Policy
September 22, 2022
While most countries seems to be running away from inflation, Turkey seemingly is taking steps to bring it on. Turkish CPI inflation has accelerated to 80.2% versus a target of 5%, and the lira had collapsed 45% since September 2021. From 19%, the rate was lowered to 14.0% in the final four months of 2021, […] More
Central Bank Rate Hike in Norway
September 22, 2022
The Bank of Norway‘s policy interest rate was lifted by 50 basis points today and becomes 2.25%. In six moves over the past year, the rate has risen from zero percent. Guidance suggests that there likely will be a further increase at the next meeting in November. Since officials see some evidence that monetary tightening […] More
Japan Wields the Intervention Tool but Doubles Down on Continuing Ultra-Loose Domestic Monetary Policy
September 22, 2022
After numerous rhetorical complaints by officials about the weakness of the yen, Japanese officials sold foreign currency directly in the market to support their currency, which yanked the currency from an overnight low of 145.9 per dollar to as high as 140.35. This was only the third intervention episode in the past three decades. The […] More
Rate Hikes Today in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines
September 22, 2022
The discount rate at the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) has been raised 12.5 basis points to 1.625%. That increase follows two earlier hikes this year totaling 37.5 basis points. Inflation slipped in August to 2.66% but is still above target. Growth remains positive. A bigger full percentage point hike of the […] More
FOMC Preview
September 21, 2022
In the race of central bankers around the world to get ahead of the inflation-reduction curve, the Federal Reserve had been neither the least aggressive nor most aggressive monetary institution in shifting from a very accommodative stance to one that goes beyond mere neutrality to eventual restraint. Quantitative stimulus has given way to a program […] More
Swedish Interest Rate Hike Surpasses Expectations
September 20, 2022
Officials at the Swedish Riksbank today exceeded street expectations with a policy interest rate hike of a full percentage point to 1.75%. The Executive Board’s statement indicates more hikes are probable during the coming half year and revising projected inflation sharply higher to calendar year averages of 8.6% in 2022, 8.5% in 2023, and 2.2% […] More
Central Bank of Russia Cuts Interest Rate Again
September 16, 2022
the Central Bank of Russia’s policy interest rate was sliced by 50 basis points to 7.5%, which is only about half as much as August’s 14.3% year-on-year rate of Russian CPI inflation. According to a released statement, Russian GDP is liable to contract 4% or slightly more this year, and subdued consumption should promote a […] More
Another Rate Hike in Peru
September 9, 2022
The Central Reserve Bank of Peru’s policy rate had been raised for the 14th time since August 2021, but the incremental rise after this month’s policy review unexpectedly reverted back to the 25 basis points done initially. all the other increases had been by 50 basis points, and the rate in total has gone from […] More
