South African Reserve Bank
South African Reserve Bank Interest Rate Hiked 50 Basis Points after 4-1 Vote
May 19, 2022
With one dissent favoring a 25-basis point increment, South Africa’s Monetary Policy Committee agreed to increase its interest rate to 4.75%. This new level is 125 basis points above the pandemic low of 3.5% prevailing from July 2020 until November 2021 but 175 basis points below the pre-pandemic level of 6.5%. A released statement lays […] More
Stagflationary Outlook Gaining Traction and Western Leaders in Brussels Plan Contingent Plans for Ukraine Crisis
March 24, 2022
The world’s attention today is on Brussels where U.S. President Biden will be meeting with NATO allies, the European Council of political leaders, and Other Group of Seven members. The meetings are meant to coordinate a response to Russia’s continuing invasion of Ukraine, where the use of Russian weapons of mass destruction appears increasingly probable. […] More
Dollar Ending Week on an Up-Note But Euro Steady
March 26, 2021
The dollar overnight appreciated another 0.35% on a trade weighted basis, but strength wasn’t even this time. The dollar rose 0.6% against the yen and 1.0% relative to the Turkish lira. The key EUR/USD relationship is unchanged, and the greenback has slipped 0.4% versus the New Zealand and Australian dollars, 0.3% vis-a-vis the Canadian dollar […] More
Slew of U.S. Executive Orders and Central Bank Policy Reviews
January 21, 2021
President Biden’s inaugural address yesterday called for national unity to face down the many severe challenges now juxtaposed. 17 executive orders followed to reverse several polices of the Trump era. Contrary to warnings, inauguration day was free of domestic violence. U.S. stocks experienced their greatest advance on a presidential inauguration day since 1985, when Reagan […] More
South African Reserve Bank
November 19, 2020
Although the South African Reserve Bank’s repo rate was left unchanged at 3.5%, the vote not to ease of 3-2 was razor-thin. Each dissenter preferred a 25-basis point cut to add to earlier easing moves this year of 25 basis points in January, 100 bps each in March and April, 50 bps in May and […] More
Mixed Signals this Friday
September 18, 2020
China’s Shanghai Composite equity index jumped 2.1%, but share prices fell 1.4% in New Zealand and 0.3% in Australia and India. Japan’s Nikkei rose only 0.2%, and Spanish stocks have so far dropped 1.2% on the day. The dollar climbed to another record high against the Turkish lira and shows a year-to-date advance of more […] More
By 3-2 Vote, South African Central Bank Officials Cut Repo Rate by 25 Basis Points
July 23, 2020
The fifth cut of the South African Reserve Bank repo rate this year brings the total drop of 2020 to 300 basis points. A released statement expects one more 25-bp reduction to be made around the final quarter of the year. The projected contraction of real GDP was revised a touch higher to 7.3%. “economic […] More
South Africa’s Fourth Central Bank Rate Cut since January
May 21, 2020
The South African Reserve Bank repo rate was lowered 50 basis points to 3.75% following a 3-2 vote, with dissents favoring only a 25-basis point reduction. Today’s easing brings to 275 bps the total rate reduction since mid-January. In a released statement, the Monetary Policy Committee anticipates two cuts of 25 basis points each in […] More
100-Basis Point Cut in South Africa’s Central Bank Policy Rate
April 14, 2020
Officials at the South African Reserve Bank unanimously authorized the second full percentage point reduction of their key interest rate in the past four weeks. The rate, which had crested at 6.75% after 175 basis points of tightening in 2018, was lowered to 4.25%. The latest 100-basis point reduction was twice as much as analysts […] More
Easter Break Over but Covid-19 Pandemic Continues to Dominate Financial Market News
April 14, 2020
Having made the three biggest mistakes in handling the pandemic, the United States has now taken the global lead in both number of cases (30.3% of the worldwide total) and deaths (23,644 or 19.6% of the total). The mistakes were 1) being late to socially distance people, 2) deficient testing to identify asymptomatic carriers of […] More
