Magyar Nemzeti Bank
Sino-Japanese Geopolitical Tensions Reflected in Weak Yen and Nikkei Losses
November 19, 2025
Ramifications continued on Wednesday from Prime Minister Takaichi’s parliamentary comment that Chinese steps to seize control of Taiwan could elicit a military response from Japan. That insinuation during a Q&A session led to a forceful verbal response from Beijing officials. The yen fell another 0.4% overnight against the dollar and at 156.2 has depreciated by […] More
Fragile Truce Between Iran & Israel, Powell’s Upcoming Testimony and Another Sign of Slow Improvement in German Business Sentiment
June 24, 2025
In a triumph of geopolitics over economics, financial markets rallied initially overnight on news of the ceasefire agreement between Iran and Israel, but that momentum paused on doubts the truce will hold. Fed Chairman Powell’s semiannual Monetary Policy Report to congress (formerly known as the Humphrey-Hawkins testimony) kicks off at 10:00 EDT today before the […] More
Investor Flight to Safety After Putin Threatens Use of Nuclear Weapons
November 19, 2024
Geopolitical risk took a turn for the worse today. Russian President Putin widened conditions under which nuclear weapons might be used not only against Ukraine but allies of Ukraine whose long-range missiles are used against Russian sites by Ukraine. The clear implication is a much feared broader European war with weapons of mass destruction. Putin’s […] More
Second Thoughts about the Coming Path of Interest Rates
October 22, 2024
Equity markets continued to retreat from recent highs on Tuesday as investor expectations gravitated to a more deliberate and gradual decline of central bank interest rates. This process has not been limited to the United States. The rethink has been fostered by signs of economic resilience and price stickiness, and central bank officials have gone […] More
Rate Cut Fever
September 25, 2024
In the wake of a disappointing and unexpected relapse in U.S. consumer confidence in the Conference Board’s monthly measure this month, financial markets are attaching greater odds to another interest rate cut by the FOMC at its early November meeting following the sizable 50-bp initial reduction made earlier this month. The consumer sentiment index printed […] More
Downward Rate Cycle Resumed in Hungary
September 24, 2024
From a base rate peak of 13.0% maintained for nearly a year, officials initiated a declining trend eleven months ago that methodically made cuts at ten straight monthly meetings until the one in August when the rate was kept at 6.75%. CPI inflation had crested slightly above 25% in January 2023 and fallen to 9.9% […] More
A Seventh Straight Hungarian Central Bank Interest Rate Cut
April 23, 2024
The Central Bank of Hungary’s base rate has been lowered 50 basis points to 7.75% in a continuing normalization of monetary policy. The latest and expected reduction brings the cumulative decreases to 300 basis points since end-2024 and 525 basis points since October. Consumer price inflation in Hungary has receded from as much as 25.7% […] More
Interest Rate Hike in Hungary Largest So Far
July 12, 2022
The National Bank of Hungary’s interest rate has been raised by another two percentage points to 9.75%. There have been fourteen straight monthly increases, including a move of 185 basis points in June, and July’s increment was the largest of the bunch. Before tightening began in June 2021, the rate have been at 0.60%. Hungary […] More
Magyar Nemzeti Bank Tightens Hungarian Monetary Policy Stance Further
February 22, 2022
Hungary’s central bank policy interest rate has been raised by another half percentage point to 3.4%, matching the increase done in January. From a base of 0.60% through May 2021, the rate was raised in each of the final seven months of last year by a combined 180 basis points. CPI inflation accelerated from 2.2% […] More
Dollar Marking Time as Two-Day FOMC Meeting Commences
December 14, 2021
The dollar remained unchanged on balance overnight against the euro, Swiss franc, kiwi, yuan and versus its weighted DXY index. The greenback ticked 0.1% higher relative to the yen and loonie and 0.1% lower vis-a-vis sterling. A two-day meeting of the FOMC began in which policymakers are expected to accelerate previously signaled plans to taper […] More
