National Bank of Kazakhstan
Dollar Marking Time Ahead of U.S. September Jobs Report
October 6, 2023
The DXY weighted dollar is unchanged. The U.S. currency rose overnight by 0.4% against the yen and 0.1% relative to the Aussie and Canadian dollars but fell by 0.2% versus the euro and sterling and by 0.1% against the Swiss franc. Based in part by the sharp recent retreat in oil prices and a very […] More
Central Bank Rate Cut in Kazakhstan
August 25, 2023
The National Bank of Kazakhstan’s benchmark interest rate has been cut 25 basis points to 16.5%. That remains above on-year CPI inflation of 14.0% as of July, which has fallen from 21.3% in February. Today’s rate reduction was the first easing since July 2020 to a pandemic low of 9.0%. Subsequently, the central bank rate […] More
The Good Friday/Easter Break but Also Awaiting U.S. Jobs Data
April 7, 2023
Several markets in the Pacific Rim were shut today, including those in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Most of Europe was closed for holiday. Good Friday is not a federal holiday in the United States, but while banks will be open, stock exchanges will stay shut, muting any response to U.S. labor […] More
Better-Than-Forecast U.S. Data Unsettle Investor Expectations Regarding December’s FOMC Decision
December 5, 2022
If it’s not one thing, it’s another. A major concern since the onset of Covid-19 has been the zero tolerance policies of the Chinese government to any instances of the pandemic. Investors have been relieved over the past month by increasing indications that such an extreme approach, which has smothered the Chinese economy, will be […] More
Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Namibia Central Bank Rate Changes
October 26, 2022
Officials at the National Bank of Kazakhstan raised their policy interest rate by 150 basis points to 16.0%, which is more than a 7-year high and which follows seven increases between July 2021 and July 2022 totaling 550 basis points. CPI inflation in Kazakhstan accelerated to a 75-month high of 17.7% in September from 16.1% […] More
Convergence of Fed-ECB Interest Rate Biases Sends Dollar Lower
October 26, 2022
The dollar has prospered throughout 2022 largely because the Federal Reserve had been seen as more aggressive in raising interest rates than the European Central Bank and other central banks. Today’s main market theme is that perhaps the monetary policy gap will not be as wide as thought previously. The ECB Governing Council will likely […] More
Analysts Surprised by Another Interest Rate Hike in Kazakhstan
July 25, 2022
The National Bank of Kazakhstan, one of the former members of the USSR, became the latest central bank with a policy rate increase to fend off runaway inflation. The interest rate increase of 50 basis points to 14.5% follows earlier increases of 50 basis points in April, 325 basis points in February, 50 bps […] More
Last Week of July Starts with Equities and Bond Yields Rising and Dollar and Bitcoin Falling
July 25, 2022
The dollar fell overnight by 0.6% against the peso and sterling, 0.4% versus the ruble and Australian and Canadian dollars, 0.3% relative to the euro but rose 0.3% against the yen, 0.2% versus the Swiss franc and 0.6% vis-a-vis the Turkish lira. The weighted DXY dollar index is 0.4% softer. U.S. equity futures point to […] More
Macron Wins with 58.6% of the Vote but Recessionary Fears Extend Equity Losses Around the World
April 25, 2022
Although less than the 66.1% to 33.9% margin of victory in 2017, French President Macron was reelected, beating Le Pen by a greater margin than expected. His margin this time was still comfortable at 17.2% — 58.6% to 41.1%. Had Le Pen’s far-right National Rally captured the government, the unity of NATO against Russian aggression […] More
National Bank of Kazakhstan’s Policy Interest Rate Kept at 13.5%
March 9, 2022
Officials at the National Bank of Kazakhstan, a country which like Ukraine had been once part of the Soviet empire, had in emergency session raised their policy interest rate by 325 basis points on February 24, the day Russia invaded Ukraine. Consequently, at today’s scheduled policy review, officials did not move the interest further. Earlier […] More
