National Bank of Kazakhstan
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
A Day of Bottom-Fishing
March 9, 2022
It’s been a rough period for financial market participants since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. After large rises in sovereign debt yields, commodity prices, and the dollar juxtaposed against steep drops in equities, investors this Wednesday have taken their cue from the price of oil and pulled back from recent extremes. At $120.80 per […] More
National Bank of Kazakhstan Lifts Key Interest Rate by 325 Basis Points and to Over Five-Year High
February 24, 2022
In Kazakhstan, which like Ukraine had been part of the defunct Soviet Union empire, the central bank today hoisted its policy interest rate by a whopping 325 basis points to 13.50%. That increase follows hikes of 50 basis points in January and a trio of 25-bp moves in the second half of 2021. The Kazakhstan […] More
