Czech National Bank
Equities Lit Up By Surprisingly Low U.S. CPI Reading
December 18, 2025
Released U.S. consumer price data for November this Thursday overshadowed a continuing parade of scheduled central bank interest rate decisions, with the greatest impact directed at stock markets in Europe and the United States. There had been atypically high uncertainty about what the CPI release would show due to the U.S. federal shutdown-related lull in […] More
Slight Retreat in the Dollar and A Razor-Thin Bank of England Interest Rate Decision
November 6, 2025
The stepped down a little in overnight trading, losing 0.3% against the euro and yen, 0.2% relative to the Swiss franc and sterling, and 0.1% vis-a-vis the Canadian and Australian currencies. Alternatively, South Korea’s won lost 0.4% against the dollar and even more versus the yen. Ten-year sovereign debt yields rose three basis points in […] More
Many Data Releases and Central Bank Interest Rate Announcements
August 7, 2025
Reciprocal tariffs became effective today. The scale of their increase is profound, and reactions in America to the new tax are extremely polarized and aligned with political affiliations. For Trump supporters, today is a great day, heralding a large new source of fiscal revenue and a rebirth of the country’s manufacturing sector. For political opponents, […] More
Pausing While Watching Middle East and Awaiting Second Round of Powell Testimony
June 25, 2025
A fragile truce in the Iran-Israeli military conflict is mostly holding. Today is day two of a three-day NATO summit in The Hague. Agreement on a sharp increase in defense spending heads the agenda. In the wake of Middle Eastern developments over the past week, U.S. President Trump’s reception has been unexpectedly positive from what […] More
Polish and Czech Central Bank Rate Cuts
May 7, 2025
Officials at the Czech National Bank cut their two-week repo rate by 25 basis points to 3.50%, its lowest level since December 2021 and down from a cycle peak of 7.0% maintained for a full year prior to an initial cut in December 2023. One of the seven voters behind this decision preferred to leave […] More
Federal Reserve Tops a List of Many Central Banks Deciding Interest Rate Levels
May 7, 2025
Today’s FOMC decision at 18:00 GMT (14:00 EDT) is universally expected to be an unchanged federal funds target range of 4.25-4.50%. Updated macroeconomic forecasts are not scheduled at this meeting, so the focus will be on what Fed Chairman Powell says at his press conference, which begins at 14:30 EDT and, even more influentially, how […] More
U.S. Pivots Back to Tariff Threats, Sending Equity Markets Lower in Europe and Much of Asia
March 27, 2025
Share prices on Thursday fell 1.4% in Taiwan and South Korea, 0.6% in Japan, and 0.4% in Australia, and European stock markets so far show losses of 04-0.8% in Germany, France, the U.K. and Italy. In pre-open U.S. trading, some key U.S. automaker and tech company stocks have sold off sharply, but overall indices are […] More
Contrasting European and U.S. Data Trends Support Dollar
February 6, 2025
Compared to Wednesday closing levels, the dollar shortly before the opening of U.S. equity markets had strengthened by a further 0.4% against the euro, Aussie dollar and even sterling despite an as-expected announced 25-basis point cut in the Bank of England’s policy interest rate. The Czech National Bank’s key rate also was sliced by 25 […] More
Many More Central Banks Announce Interest Rate Decisions, Third-Quarter U.S. GDP Gets Revised Higher, And A Possible U.S. Government Shutdown Looms
December 19, 2024
World financial markets reacted sharply and immediately to yesterday’s shift in Fed forward rate guidance that now suggests only two rate cuts, not four, during 2025. Then in overnight market action, U.S. stock futures recovered about 0.7%. Share prices in the Pacific Rim 1.0% or more in South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, New Zealand, and India […] More
Central Bank Interest Rate Changes in Czech Republic, Sweden and Brazil
November 7, 2024
There’s been a 25-basis point cut of the Czech National Bank’s two-week repo rate to 4.0%. It’s the eighth reduction since last December (four times by 50 bps and four times by 25 bps including the most recent three occasions). Consumer price inflation of 2.6% in September is still above the target of 2.0%, and […] More
