Central Bank of Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan Interest Rate Cut
March 26, 2024
An unexpected interest rate cut was undertaken by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, whose Standing Deposit Facility Rate was cut to 8.5% from 9.0%. The rate has been on a roller coaster ride since its pandemic low of 4.5% from July 2020 to August 2021. An initial hike took it to 5.0% for the […] More
Uncertainty About the Impact of A Chinese Government Plan to Support Equity Values
January 23, 2024
At a Chinese government cabinet meeting, officials are reported to have conceived plans to lend direct support to the economy’s flailing stock market and thereby buttress investor confidence. The rumored scheme only lifted the Shanghai composite index by a net 0.5% overnight, and a 3.2% initial jump in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was trimmed […] More
Mega-Hike in Turkish Central Bank Rate and a Republican Presidential Debate that Changes Little
August 24, 2023
The Central Bank of Turkey’s key interest rate was raised to 25.0% from 17.5%. This biggest move so far followed increases of 250 basis points in July and 650 bps in June and catapults the rate well beyond the prior peak of 19.0% for five months from March 2021 to August 2021. The size of […] More
July 6, 2023
Sri Lankan monetary officials signaled a more definitive turn in policy. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka‘s key interest rate previously had been cut 250 basis points in 2020, then raised 50 bps in 2021 and 950 bps in 2022. A final 50-basis point hike this past March capped that cycle and has been followed […] More
Another Rise in Equities Despite Higher Bond Yields and Price of Oil
April 4, 2023
Fear of an additional climb in central bank interest rates has lessened. The Reserve Bank of Australia‘s Official Cash Rate, which had been raised from 0.1% to 3.6% between May 2022 and last month, was left unchanged. A released statement said that inflation had peaked in Australia but projects that a return to the 2-3% […] More
Slow Start to a Busy Week
March 6, 2023
The dollar is mostly higher so far today, with gains of 0.7% relative to the Australian and New Zealand dollars, 0.4% versus the Chinese yuan, 0.3% against sterling, 0.2% vis-a-vis the Japanese yen, Canadian dollar and and Mexican peso. That said, the euro has moved in lock-step with the dollar, the Swiss franc has risen […] More
Investors Anxious Over Several Matters
January 25, 2023
Although down from 2022 highs in many places, inflation remains too elevated for central bankers to feel comfortable. Many data including this week’s spate of purchasing manager surveys are consistent with a contraction of GDP in this first quarter of 2023. The war in Ukraine and proliferation of mass shootings in the United States are […] More
Several Central Bank Policy Meetings Elsewhere on This U.S. Thanksgiving Day
November 24, 2022
With the U.S. observing its quintessentially most unique holiday, the dollar continued to back off from recent highs, dropping 0.3% on a weighted DXY basis overnight and extending its cumulative decline from peak to 7.8%. The dollar lost 0.9% against the yen today and 0.6% versus sterling but just 0.1% relative to the euro. Prices […] More
Central Bank of Sri Lanka
May 19, 2022
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka Board had agreed to a shock and awe 700-basis point interest rate hike at their policy review in April and consequently decided this month to leave the standing deposit facility rate unchanged at 13.5%. “The Board was of the view that the policy measures that have already been implemented […] More
Nothing but Red on the Screens
May 19, 2022
It’s no longer about the data, or the news for that matter. A self-perpetuating technically-driven downward dynamic has taken over financial markets. For the Nasdaq, the bear market threshold was breached a while ago. S&P futures are within a percent of bear market territory, and its only a matter of time before the Dow joins […] More
