Bank Indonesia
Awaiting European Central Bank’s Decision Amid Fast Evolving Banking Crisis
March 16, 2023
America’s banking crisis jumped the Atlantic to Credit Suisse on Wednesday, sending Pacific Rim stock markets down today by 1.1% in China, Australia, and China. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.7%, and the Japanese Nikkei fell 0.8%. But news today of Credit Suisse accepting a $54 billion loan from the Swiss National Bank has […] More
Policy Reviews in Rwanda, Indonesia and The Philippines
February 16, 2023
Policy interest rates at the National Bank of Rwanda and Central Bank of The Philippines each were raised today by 50 basis points. For Rwanda, the hike was the fourth over the past year and matched the size of the previous increase three months ago. At 7.0% after the latest increase, the rate is 250 […] More
Another Indonesian Central Bank Rate Hike But Perhaps the Last One
January 19, 2023
From a pandemic low of 3.5% (February 2021 to August 2022), Bank Indonesia’s 7-day reverse repo rate had been raised four times by a half percentage point plus once by 25 bps during the balance of last year. A sixth 25-bp hike announced today lifts such to 5.75%, its highest level in three and a […] More
Contrasting Concerns Among Central Bankers and Financial Market Investors
January 19, 2023
As often is the case, the World Economic Forum in Davos has thrust central bank policies into the spotlight. The primary concern of monetary policymakers remains inflation. Federal Reserve District Presidents Mester of Cleveland and Bullard of St. Louis endorsed a need to crank the federal funds rate target above 5.0%. European Central Bank President […] More
Turkey and Indonesia
December 22, 2022
The Central Bank of Turkey did not cut its one-week 9.0% repo rate further at this month’s review, adhering to the pause that was signaled earlier. The key interest rate had been slashed by a combined 500 basis points at the four previous monthly meetings on top of of 500 basis points of reduction in […] More
Indonesian and Filipino Central Bank Rate Hikes
November 17, 2022
Bank Indonesia’s policy interest rate underwent its fourth increase since an initial 25-basis point move in August, rising to 5.25% from 4.75%. Hikes in September and October had also been by a half percentage point. In response to the pandemic, five 25-basis point cuts in 2020 were culminated with a final reduction to 3.50% in […] 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
Indonesia and China
October 20, 2022
Bank Indonesia’s seven-day reverse repo rate was lifted by an expected 50 basis points to a 32-month high of 4.75%. There had been two earlier hikes this year of 25 basis points in August and 50 bps in September. At 4.75%, the rate is just 25 basis points below its pre-pandemic level of 5.0%. Indonesian […] More
Unusual Developments
October 20, 2022
British Prime Minister Truss just announced her resignation after an unusually brief six weeks in office. Having campaigned as the second coming of Margaret Thatcher, Truss lost the the confidence of her own party when a public roar of protest greeted her program of radical and unfunded tax cuts. Her departure is unlikely to quell […] 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
