Filtered by Topic: Monetary Policy Use setting Monetary Policy
The ECB raised its deposit rate to 3.5% today and President Lagarde all but promised another hike next month. Our baseline forecast remains that interest rates will peak in July and stay there until the middle of next year but the chances of another hike …
15th June 2023
The tightening of labour markets across Latin America in the past year or so has fuelled rapid wage growth in many economies and wage growth is likely to remain uncomfortably high for a while yet. Against this backdrop, even as central banks kick off …
We think the Norges Bank will follow through on its plan to raise its policy rate by 25bp next week, to 3.50%, although there is an outside chance of a 50bp hike. Either way, we think it will push its interest rate forecast up, showing a peak in the …
Taiwan’s central bank (CBC) today kept its main policy rate unchanged (at 1.875%), but with the economy struggling and inflation set to fall further, we expect it to start cutting rates in September. The decision today was correctly predicted by 19 of …
As expected, the Fed held its policy rate unchanged at between 5.00% and 5.25% today, but it made clear in the accompanying statement that pause was only to allow officials to “assess additional information and its implications for monetary policy”. In a …
While selling its exchange-traded fund (ETF) holdings at book value to the government wouldn’t impair the Bank of Japan’s balance sheet, we don’t think it would provide the boost to fiscal revenue that policymakers seem to be hoping for. And while the …
14th June 2023
Pakistan’s central bank (SBP) left its main policy rate unchanged today at 21%, but we think this represents a pause rather than an end to the SBP’s tightening cycle. With inflation well above target and concerns about the external position unlikely to …
12th June 2023
The suspension and potential removal of Godwin Emefiele as Nigeria’s central bank governor raises hopes that there will be a shift away from the current unorthodox and interventionist monetary and exchange rate policies. A large devaluation of the naira …
A handful of EM central banks were quick out of the blocks to tighten monetary policy in 2021 and one of the key lessons of the past year or so is that underlying inflation pressure is still proving incredibly hard to beat. The fight against inflation …
8th June 2023
The RBI’s decision to keep the repo rate on hold (at 6.50%) today comes as no surprise given the recent sharp drop in inflation. The central bank continues to strike a hawkish tone and the door remains ajar for further hikes. But with headline inflation …
The Bank of Canada’s 25bp interest rate hike today is unlikely to be the last, with the rapid turnaround in the housing market and concerning underlying inflation dynamics raising the case for at least one more hike in July, to take the policy rate to …
7th June 2023
According to our proprietary interest rate-sensitive indicators, activity in advanced economies has so far proven remarkably resilient to higher interest rates. A lot of this has been due to a rebound in auto sales related to pandemic distortions, whereas …
More than €1trn of TLTROs will be redeemed over the next eighteen months, significantly reducing euro-zone banks’ liquidity and pushing up their funding costs as they adjust their balance sheets. Banks may also increase their holdings of government bonds …
A version of this report was published as an opinion piece in the Financial Times on Wednesday 7 th June Signs that newly re-elected Turkish president Erdogan is willing to move away from unorthodox economic policies has led to an increase in investor …
In response to the hawkish shift by RBA Governor Lowe and the further acceleration in unit labour cost growth, we now expect the Bank to lift the cash rate to 4.85% by September. That aggressive monetary tightening will push the Australian economy into a …
The Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the cash rate by 25bp today and the hawkish tone of the statement suggests that the risks to our terminal rate forecast of 4.35% are tilted to the upside. Indeed, we still think that the Bank will cut interest rates …
6th June 2023
Optimism about a shift towards more orthodox economic policymaking in Turkey has taken hold following the appointment of Mehmet Simsek to the cabinet this weekend. Recent developments look encouraging but the next big test will be whether President …
5th June 2023
The latest data suggest that Brazil’s labour market isn’t softening as quickly as we and many others (not least the central bank) had anticipated. That’s keeping wage growth high and, while that may help to support growth in Q2, it will probably deter …
1st June 2023
Sri Lanka’s central bank (CBSL) cut interest rates in a surprise move today but we think further monetary loosening will be gradual as concerns about the external position are likely to persist in the near-term. The decision to cut both the Standing …
The Bank of Thailand (BoT) raised its policy rate by 25bps, to 2.0%, today but given the relatively benign outlook for inflation we think this marks the end of the tightening cycle. Today’s decision was accurately predicted by 17 of 22 analysts polled …
31st May 2023
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) hiked interest rates by 50bp, to 8.25%, today on the back of policymakers’ growing concerns about the inflationary impact of persistent power cuts. For now, we think that today’s move marks the end of the tightening …
25th May 2023
Note: We’re discussing potential EM equity outperformance, monetary easing and “friend-shoring” in our next EM monthly online briefing on Thursday, 1 st June. Register here to join. Colombia’s very strong post-pandemic recovery has come at the expense of …
The Bank of Korea today left interest rates unchanged (3.5%) for a third consecutive meeting, and pushed back against the possibility of early interest rate cuts. However, with inflation falling back, the economy struggling and the housing market …
Singapore’s economy is being hit hard by multi-decade high interest rates and elevated inflation. And with external demand set to weaken, we expect growth to be much weaker than consensus projections. The revised estimate for Q1 GDP published today …
History suggests that in the absence of a major financial shock, central banks usually leave interest rates at their peak for a year or more. That’s consistent with our view that the ECB is unlikely to start cutting interest rates until around the middle …
24th May 2023
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to raise its policy rate by 50bp, to 18.50%, reaffirmed that officials continue to focus on tackling high and rising inflation at the expense of supporting the struggling economy. The increasing likelihood of fuel …
The most troubling aspect of April’s inflation data, released earlier today, was evidence that price pressures are becoming increasingly domestically generated. Accordingly, we now expect the Bank of England to raise interest rates further than we …
The decision by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to lift its official cash rate by 25bp, to 5.50%, was in line with what most had anticipated. However, with the Bank sounding more dovish than it has in the recent past, we think its hiking cycle is now …
Hungary’s central bank (MNB) cut the interest rate on its one-day deposit tender at today’s meeting, from 18% to 17%, and this is likely to be followed by further cuts in the coming months, with the central bank’s key policy rates returning to single …
23rd May 2023
The Bank of Israel (BoI) delivered another 25bp interest rate hike, to 4.75%, at today’s meeting and did not offer any guidance as to whether this would be the last in the cycle. On balance, we think the central bank will deliver one more 25bp hike, to …
22nd May 2023
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) opted to leave interest rates unchanged at Thursday evening’s MPC meeting and the lack of comment on the pound will only add to investor concerns about the commitment to orthodoxy. Unless something changes soon, the path …
19th May 2023
Although monetary tightening has been a drag on equities over the past year or so, we don’t think the end of rate hikes means the stock market is set for big gains. Rate hikes among developed markets look to be drawing to a close . In particular, we think …
Over the past couple of weeks we have held a series of roundtable discussions with clients across Asia and North America on the outlook for EMs. In this Update we provide our thoughts on the recurring questions that we received, including on China’s …
Mexico’s central bank held its policy rate at 11.25% at today’s Board meeting, bringing the tightening cycle to an end. But with inflation unlikely to return to target until late-2024, policy will probably stay tighter than most expect over the next …
18th May 2023
Our best guess is that the impact of monetary policy tightening on euro-zone economic activity will be less than five percent of GDP, which is the lower end of a range estimated in an ECB Economic Bulletin paper this week. However, even that could be …
A quick solution to South Africa’s energy crisis is nowhere to be seen. Not only will power cuts remain a drag on economy but there are growing concerns that they are fuelling inflation, threatening the country with a period of stagflation. That presents …
Any impact of QT has so far been modest and swamped by the effects of higher policy rates. Asset disposals might put some upward pressure on yields in the euro-zone in the near term, but the process of balance sheet normalisation will be slow and in some …
The central bank in the Philippines (BSP) today left interest rates unchanged (at 6.25%) but stated it was ready to resume its tightening cycle later in the year. However, with inflation falling back and headwinds to the economy mounting, we expect rates …
Fears among investors have continued to grow that Egypt’s government will default on its debt in the coming years although, for now at least, there remains a path to avoid such an outcome. Taking that path will require the government to step back from …
The rapid turnaround in the housing market and the upside surprise to CPI inflation in April have raised the case for another interest rate hike from the Bank of Canada, which we now judge is slightly more likely than not. The potential for US debt …
17th May 2023
Inflation is now on a downward trend and interest rates are at, or very close to, a peak. But central banks will only cut interest rates once there are clearer signs that underlying price pressures are under control. That could be as early as later this …
The RBA’s balance sheet has barely shrunk since it decided to stop reinvesting the proceeds from maturing bonds. While pressing ahead with quantitative tightening would make it easier for the Bank to engage in quantitative easing during future downturns, …
16th May 2023
We think that investors are underestimating the scale of interest rate cuts in the UK next year. If we’re correct, that could propel Gilts to the top of the class for local-currency returns over the rest of 2023. Local-currency returns from ICE BofA’s …
12th May 2023
Most EM central banks have drawn their monetary tightening cycles to a close now and, if history is any guide, it looks like the conditions will be in place for an easing cycle to start from around July/August. EM central banks were quick off the mark to …
10th May 2023
Note: We discussed Turkey’s election in an online briefing on 10th May. Watch it here . There’s a lot of optimism that the opposition will emerge victorious in Turkey’s elections, which would pave the way for a return to orthodox economic policy. Were …
We forecast small further falls in the yields of long-dated US Treasuries and euro-zone sovereign bonds between now and the end of next year, as disinflation picks up steam and central banks turn more dovish. Investors largely shrugged off this week’s …
4th May 2023
Today’s 25bp decision was in line with market expectations and the views of most forecasters polled by Reuters – though we had been in the minority forecasting 50bp. The move marks a slowing in the pace of policy tightening and suggests at face value that …
The Norges Bank raised its policy rate by 25bp today, to 3.25%, but unlike the Fed we think the tightening cycle in Norway has further to run. That said, we think that inflation will fall more quickly than the central bank anticipates next year, allowing …
Brazilian policymakers gave a firm push back against any expectations for imminent monetary easing at yesterday’s central bank meeting, supporting our view that interest rates will be lowered a bit more slowly over the next 6-12 months than most expect. …
The Fed’s new policy statement provides the clearest hint yet that the 25bp rate hike today is likely to be the last. We expect economic weakness and a sharper-than-expected drop back in core inflation to convince officials to start cutting rates again …
3rd May 2023
