Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas
Awaiting Several More U.S. Data Releases Scheduled Today
November 16, 2023
In addition to the usual Thursday weekly report on jobless insurance claims, the U.S. data menu features import prices and industrial production and also includes the Philly Fed and K.C. Fed manufacturing surveys, the NAHB monthly housing market index, capacity utilization, and Treasury-compiled capital flows between the U.S. and other countries. So far, financial markets […] More
25-Basis Point Interest Rate Hike in the Philippines
October 26, 2023
A 25-basis point hike of the reverse repo rate at the Central Bank of the Philippines had not been expected by analysts today. The move ends a pause since March and lifts the rate benchmark to 6.5% from 5.5% at end-2022 and a pandemic low of 2.0% that had been maintained from November 2020 to […] More
A Further Rise in 10-Year Sovereign Debt Yields After FOMC Minutes Got Released Yesterday
August 17, 2023
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed five basis points overnight to a 16-year high. At 4.29%, such is still almost a percentage point south of the 2007 peak of 5.26%. In Europe, 10-year sovereign debt yields rose overnight by six basis points in the U.K., four bps in Italy and Spain and three bps in […] More
Optimism Growing that U.S. Debt Default Can Be Averted; Inflation Still Too High; and G7 Leaders Gathering in Hiroshima for Annual Summit
May 18, 2023
Negotiator comments that progress is being made in the U.S. debt ceiling talks is better than the alternative, but investor caution is advised. The vote to elect Kevin McCarthy Speaker of the House underscored the great difficulty in getting Republican members to agree on anything constructive. Best to assume that a U.S. default has been […] More
Busy Thursday Calendar for Central Bank Watchers
March 23, 2023
Wednesday belonged to the Federal Reserve, but no fewer than eight other central banks announced their interest rate decisions today. The Swiss National Bank’s policy interest rate was hiked 50 basis points to a 14-1/2 year high of 1.50%. Rate increases of 25 basis points were engineered by the Central Bank of Norway to 3.0%, […] More
Central Bank Interest Rate Hikes and U.S. Data Clobber Share and Bond Prices, But Dollar Soars
December 15, 2022
No fewer than eight central banks have hiked interest rates today: the European Central Bank, Bank of England, Swiss National Bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and Hong Kong and Macau Monetary Authorities all by 50 basis points and matching the Fed’s action yesterday; the Bank of Norway by 25 basis points; and the Central Bank […] More
Don’t Even Think that Monetary Tightening Is Going to Pause
November 17, 2022
Central bankers in the United States and around the world are doubling down to quell any investor notions that monetary tightening is about to pause while assessing the delayed results of restraint already in the pipeline. That was the message from recent comments by the Kansas City and San Francisco Fed Presidents and the actions […] More
Thursday Central Bank Derby Results in Japanese Forex Intervention, Many Interest Rate Hikes, and One Bizarre Cut
September 22, 2022
Net overnight movements in the dollar have ranged widely from a 1.8% plunge against the yen to a 1.1% rise versus the Swiss franc. In between, the dollar fell 0.3% versus the euro, Australian dollar, and sterling. After numerous rhetorical complaints by officials about the weakness of the yen, Japanese officials sold foreign currency directly […] More
Rate Hike in the Philippines
August 18, 2022
The Filipino policy interest rate was increased by another 50 basis points to 3.75%. May had seen the first increase since November 2018, a hike of 25 basis points. Another 25-bp hike was agreed at the June central bank monetary board meeting, followed by a 75-basis point increase in July. The total increase of 175 […] More
Central Banks See Little Alternative but to React to Elevated Inflation
August 18, 2022
The reinforcing cycle of high inflation and rising central bank interest rates has made a favorable environment for the dollar, which rose another 0.2% overnight against the yen, euro, yuan, peso and on a DXY weighted basis. The U.S. currency also climbed 0.4% versus the kiwi and 0.3% relative to the Swiss franc but is […] More
