Czech National Bank
50-Basis Point Interest Rate Cuts in Brazil and the Czech Republic
March 21, 2024
The Czech National Bank‘s 2-month repo rate was cut by 50 basis points. This third reduction since December with a combined drop of 125 basis points leaves the rate at 5.75%, still well above consumer price inflation, which has imploded from 18.0% in September 2022 to a 62-month low of 2.0% last month. GDP growth […] More
A Mixed Bag of Central Bank Moves, Purchasing Manager Surveys, and Current accounts
March 21, 2024
Since Federal Reserve President Powell said the Fed’s view on inflation had not materially changed, several other central banks have chimed in with their decisions. Interest rates were cut in Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Brazil, raised in Turkey and Taiwan, and left steady in Norway and the Bank of England. Preliminary March composite PMI […] More
Czech National Bank’s 50-Basis Point Interest Rate Cut Above Expectations, But Policy Still Deemed Restrictive
February 8, 2024
A initial 25-basis point reduction of the CNB 2-week repo rate in December has been followed by a half percentage point cut at the first scheduled review of 2024. One of the seven policymakers favored cutting the rate by 75 basis point this time. Czech GDP contracted 0.4% on average in 2023, including a 0.2% […] More
More Central Bank Decisions and U.S. Stock Futures Rebound ahead of GDP Data Releases
December 21, 2023
After Wednesday’s big round of profit-taking in U.S. equities, stock futures show a rebound of about 0.5% in pre-open trading. A final estimate of U.S. GDP growth in 3Q will be released at 08:30 EST (13:30 GMT); the prior estimate showed a sizzling 5.2% quarter-on-quarter pace expressed at an annualized rate. In other stock market […] More
Treading Water Ahead of July Jobs Data Release
August 4, 2023
The dollar is unchanged from Thursday closing levels against the Australian dollar and euro and up a mere 0.1% against the yen, loonie, peso, and sterling. Whereas 10-year sovereign debt yields are up five basis points in Spain and Switzerland and by four basis points in Germany, France and Italy, the 10-year JGB and U.S. […] More
Powell Testimony, British CPI Shocker, and Concern about Growth in China at This Summer Solstice
June 21, 2023
On this longest day of sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere, Fed Chairman Powell will testify on U.S. economic conditions and Fed policy before the House Financial Services Committee beginning at 10:00 am EDT. He will be questioned on the precise meaning of the policy pause, the likely peak in Fed interest rates, and the time […] More
Continuing Strains on Regional Banks Even As Fed Prepares to Hike Policy Rate to 15-Year High
May 3, 2023
An as-expected 25-basis point hike of the federal funds target to 5.00-5.25% would lift the range-floor to its level just before the subprime mortgage debt crisis emerged in the summer of 2007. Investors are hoping for clarified guidance on where Fed monetary policy is likely to go from there, how the Fed plans to protect […] More
Czech Monetary Policy Remains on Hold But Official Signal Possible Renewed Cycle of Rate Increases
December 21, 2022
Although policymakers at the Czech National Bank left their two-week repo interest rate unchanged again at 7.0%, which such has been since a hike of 125 basis points last June, two of the seven committee members favored a half-percentage point increase, and the tone of the released statement was hawkish: The Bank Board states that […] More
A Somewhat Better Market Tone as Northern Hemisphere Observes Winter Solstice
December 21, 2022
Data reported this Wednesday took a turn for the better, and investors were cheered also by recent earnings and other corporate news like Elon Musk’s announcement that he will step down as Twitter’s CEO. The U.S. current account deficit narrowed to $217.1 billion last quarter from $238.7 billion in 2Q and $282.5 billion in 1Q. […] More
Czech National Bank Leaves Policy Rate Unchanged for Second Meeting in a Row
September 29, 2022
The Czech National Bank had raised its two-week repo rate at every scheduled policy review between June 2021 and June 2022. Before doing this, the rate had been pinned at 0.25% since May 2020, and CPI inflation had been at 2.9% when rate normalization began. The string of rate increases was interrupted at the August […] More
