Central Bank of Russia
Investors More Confident about a Federal Funds Target Rate Hike Next Week
September 11, 2026
Although U.S. August consumer price data could have been worse, the report packed enough warning signs to leave investors more convinced that the FOMC will raise its interest rate target for the first time since July 2023. The overall CPI index increased 0.4% month-on-month, most since April, and a core CPI increase to 0.3% above […] More
25-Basis Point Central Bank Interest Rate Cuts in Russia and Kazakhstan
July 24, 2026
As expected, the Central Bank of Russia policy interest rate was sliced by another 25 basis points to 14.0% at today’s scheduled review. The rate has altogether been lowered so far this year by 200 basis points on top of the 500-bp reduction engineered in the last seven months of 2025. Officials released an explanation […] More
Trouble All Over
July 24, 2026
Resumed active conflict raged into a 13th day in the Middle East as Iran targeted U.S. military installations in the Gulf region. Scant traffic is getting through either the Strait of Hormuz or the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. On a separate front of mischief, plan B of President Trump’s tariff offensive was launched, imposing a 10-12.5% […] More
Bumps in the Path of Full Middle Eastern Peace
June 19, 2026
In the United States, neither banks nor stock market trading will be open on this federal holiday of Juneteenth, commemorating the end of slavery 161 years ago. Elsewhere, there have been setbacks in the Middle Eastern peace process. The 14-point memorandum of understanding was signed earlier in France, and no talks between Iran and the […] More
Another Russian Central Bank Rate Cut
April 24, 2026
As expected, the Central Bank of Russia cut its key rate by a further 50 basis points to 14.5%. This was the fifth such reduction since October and brings the cumulative drop to 650 basis points since this cycle began in June 2025. At the newly reduced interest rate level, monetary policy remains restrictive when […] More
With No Fresh Shift in Middle East Crisis, Market Attention Shifts to Resilient Corporate Earnings Reports
April 24, 2026
The dollar slid 0.1-0.2% overnight against major currencies but rose 0.5% against the beleaguered Indonesian rupiah. Major U.S. equity indices were lifted by better-than-presumed first-quarter corporate profits in firms such as Intel, HCA Healthcare and Procter & Gamble. Among stock exchanges in other countries, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 1.0% higher, while India’s Sensex fell 1.3%. […] More
A Seventh Central Bank Interest Rate Cut in Russia
March 20, 2026
The other central bank rate decision today involved an as-expected 50-basis point cut in the Central Bank of Russia‘s benchmark to 15.0%, its lowest level since December 2023. From a peak of 21% reached in October 2024 and maintained until June 2025, seven reductions totaling six percentage points have now been made. Russian consumer price […] More
Dollar Mixed, Equities Down, Bond Yields Higher, and Mood Remains Fearful
March 20, 2026
In overnight trading, the dollar rose 0.6% against the Japanese yen and 0.8% versus the South Korean won but slipped 0.3% relative to the Canadian dollar and 0.1% against the Swissy, euro and sterling. A five-basis point advance in the ten-year U.S. Treasury yield exceeds rises of three basis points in comparable sovereign debt yields […] More
Equities Withstand Japanese Rate Hike
December 19, 2025
As widely anticipated, the Bank of Japan implemented its first interest rate increase in 11 months. At 0.75%, the short-term deposit facility has attained its highest level in in just over three decades. Today’s fourth increase since March 2024 won unanimous approval by the central bank board after 5 hours of deliberation, but monetary officials […] More
Russian Interest rate Cut
October 24, 2025
The Bank of Russia’s policy interest rate was unexpectedly reduced by 50 basis points to 16.5%. The rate had been cut at each of the prior three reviews by a combined 400 basis points from 21% to 17%, and hopes of an early end to the war with Ukraine, which has been Russia’s main inflationary […] More
