Filtered by Topic: Monetary Policy Use setting Monetary Policy
Overview – Economic growth in most countries looks set to slow sharply next year as weaker exports and higher interest rates weigh on activity. With price pressures starting to ease, we expect central banks to begin to shift their focus from containing …
24th October 2022
The data released this week showed that higher interest rates are yet to have much of a negative impact on construction or consumption and that core inflation is proving stickier than anticipated. This has prompted us to upgrade our forecast for the …
21st October 2022
We do not yet know which of the three PM hopefuls (Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt who have attracted early backing from Conservative MPs) will replace Liz Truss. The candidates that gain more than 100 nominations from MPs will be whittled …
Unemployment still low in September Data for Sweden in September show the labour market remained tight. Admittedly, employment fell on the month and the unemployment rate edged up from 6.9% in August to 7.0%. (See Chart 1.) But the monthly numbers are …
The main message from our latest quarterly Euro-zone Economic Outlook , which we published this week, is that we now expect the euro-zone to experience an even more extreme case of stagflation. We now forecast both headline and core inflation to average …
Minutes signal RBA not done yet The RBA this week signalled that even though it slowed the pace of tightening at its last meeting, it is not done yet. In a speech on Wednesday, Deputy Governor Bullock showed that the higher frequency of the RBA’s policy …
Overview - We expect greater stimulus next year. But with the zero-COVID policy here to stay, an abrupt turnaround in property construction unlikely and exports set to fall, policymakers face an uphill battle. Growth will remain depressed. Consumer …
Policymakers in Turkey have doubled down on their new economic model of “lira-isation” by pursuing more extreme de-dollarisation policies in recent months. These appear to be having an impact in terms of stemming lira depreciation. But the central bank …
20th October 2022
It is a close call but we think a 100bp hike most likely next week. Further rate hikes will follow, bringing the deposit rate to a peak of 3%. But the hawks’ hopes to shrink the balance sheet will go unfulfilled. The ECB is certain to opt for another …
Economists from across our Asia teams were online for this 20-minute briefing on the region’s big investment stories. During this session, the team answered client questions about what’s happening in Asian economics and markets as they addressed current …
Paul Ashworth, our Chief North America Economist, and Stephen Brown, who leads our coverage of Canada’s economy, held a client briefing shortly after the BoC’s October meeting. The team addressed key issues, including: Whether the Bank will accept a …
Economists from our ANZ and Global Markets teams were online shortly after the release of Q3 CPI data for a 20-minute briefing in which they answered client questions and addressed key issues, including: Whether higher interest rates will push the …
CBRT inches further into the unknown Turkey’s central bank stepped up its easing cycle with a 150bp interest rate cut (to 10.50%) today but hinted that the easing cycle will end next month. Even so, policymaking is stretching further into the unknown and …
Euro-zone Drop-In: Deeper recession and more persistent inflation …
Bank Indonesia today raised its main policy rate by 50bp (to 4.75%), and further rate hikes are likely in the near term as the central bank looks to support the currency and clamp down on inflation. A rate hike today was always likely, the only question …
Board will lift FY2022 inflation forecasts but signal below-target inflation further ahead High inflation is triggering larger pay hikes but that won’t last Even a hawkish successor for Kuroda would struggle to tighten during a global recession The …
BI has more work to do Bank Indonesia today raised its main policy rate by 50bp (to 4.75%), and further rate hikes are likely in the near term as the central bank looks to support the currency and clamp down on inflation. A rate hike today was always …
The continued strength in inflation will encourage the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to hike the overnight cash rate by 75bp in November and to 5.0% by mid-2023. And with the financial markets sharply repricing the peak in the cash rate, a further surge …
Improvement in headline CPI inflation not matched by core Consumers’ near-term inflation expectations continue to rise Not enough evidence yet for the Bank to slow the pace of its tightening Governor Tiff Macklem has told us that the Bank of Canada …
19th October 2022
EM tightening cycles have continued apace but, having started raising rates much earlier than their DM (and Asian) peers, some central banks in Latin America ( Brazil , Chile ) and Emerging Europe (Czech Republic, Poland) are drawing their hiking cycles …
Overview – Latin America is running into a growing set of headwinds, from the global recession to lower commodity prices to tight policy at home. We expect recessions in Chile and Argentina, and our growth forecasts across most of the region for 2022-23 …
Strength of core inflation points to another 75 bp hike The Bank’s core CPI inflation measures were unchanged in September but, as we expected a decline due to more favourable base effects, that increases the odds of another 75bp interest rate hike next …
The RBI continued frontloading policy tightening in its late-September meeting with another 50bp hike to the repo rate (to 5.90%) but communications since then suggest that some MPC members are ready to ease off the brakes. The minutes to that meeting …
Inflation ticking down, but monetary policy to remain hawkish While South Africa’s headline rate edged down to 7.5% y/y in September, the surprising strength of core inflation will push policymakers to deliver another 75bp hike in the benchmark interest …
Strong inflation will prompt further rapid tightening The much stronger than expected rise in consumer prices in Q3 will encourage the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to hike rates by another 50bp at its November meeting and poses upside risks to our view …
17th October 2022
Strong inflation will prompt further rapid hikes The much stronger than expected rise in consumer prices in Q3 will encourage the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to hike rates by another 50bp at its November meeting and poses upside risks to our view that it …
Mixed messages on inflation expectations The Bank of Canada’s quarterly surveys offer some evidence that aggressive policy tightening is having the intended effects, with widespread fears of recession leading to a moderation in wage expectations and an …
Inflation nearing peak The rise in Nigeria’s headline inflation rate to a 17-year high of 20.8% y/y last month reinforces our view that policymakers will raise the benchmark rate by a further 100bp, to 16.50%, in November. That will likely mark the end of …
With the yen currently trading just below 149, it now appears to be a question of when and not if policymakers step in again. But as recent weeks and the Asian Financial Crisis have shown, such interventions alone can’t reverse yen weakness. An even …
Central banks bringing things to a close This week, Chile ’s central bank became the latest in the region to end its rate hiking cycle. The statement accompanying its 50bp policy rate hike, to 11.25%, on Wednesday mentioned that the policy rate “has …
14th October 2022
We still think it’s only a matter of time before the easing of inflationary pressure evident in the surveys and other private-sector data shows up in the official figures. But the September CPI report points to the Fed hiking by another 75bp not just in …
Governing Council members were out in force this week giving their euro cent’s worth on the monetary policy outlook. Sifting through the various comments, there are three main takeaways. First, even the most hawkish are not prepared, in public at least, …
Sweden: consumer prices vs house prices September’s consumer price data were very strong. But there has been a sharp slowdown in the housing market which could mean that the Riksbank’s tightening cycle comes to an end soon. The increase in headline …
Inflation & external pressures force the MNB’s hand The surprise decision by Hungary’s central bank (MNB) to tighten monetary policy further today underscores that the economy is facing much stronger inflation and external pressures than its regional …
RBA flags higher neutral interest rate (sort of) This week’s speech by Reserve Bank of Australia Assistant Governor Luci Ellis on the neutral interest rate was an odd affair. The last time the Bank published an estimate of the neutral rate was in 2017, …
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) tightened policy today, in an attempt to contain elevated price pressures, but with inflation likely to fall in the coming quarters and the economy set to struggle, we expect this move to have marked an end to the …
While the Fed isn’t likely to follow the Bank of England in pausing QT in response to upward pressure on long-term government bond yields, the reduction of the Fed’s balance sheet could end sooner and be significantly smaller than we had first thought. …
13th October 2022
Overview – Emerging European economies are facing a difficult winter due to the energy crisis as well as headwinds from weakening demand for exports and tightening external financing conditions. We expect almost all economies in the region to experience a …
Strictly speaking, recent measures by the Bank of England do not qualify as so-called “fiscal dominance”. But this could be the thin end of the wedge, and not just for the UK. While we are a long way off central banks in developed economies directly …
Overview – The RBI has frontloaded policy tightening over recent months but with inflation peaking and economic headwinds building, we think the central bank will now slow the pace of tightening and revert to 25bp hikes. Our forecast is for the repo rate …
Spillovers from the war in Ukraine and tighter external financing conditions have exacerbated strains in Egypt’s balance of payments and we think the pound needs to fall a lot further. This will add to inflation pressures, prompting further interest rate …
Chile’s central bank (BCCh) became the latest in the emerging world to end its tightening cycle yesterday. But with inflation only likely to fall back towards target in late-2023 and the external position in a fragile state, monetary policy will be kept …
Fed remains in hawkish mood for now While the minutes provided some hints that Fed officials are beginning to lay the ground for a slower pace of rate hikes eventually, the overall tone was still hawkish, suggesting that the Fed will push ahead with …
12th October 2022
Headline inflation rises, but now set to drop back The rise in headline consumer price inflation in September to further above the RBI’s 2-6% target range challenges our view that the RBI will slow the pace of tightening. But with food and energy …
The rise in headline consumer price inflation in September to further above the RBI’s 2-6% target range challenges our view that the RBI will slow the pace of tightening. But with food and energy inflation now set to lastingly drop back and growth likely …
Overview – Soaring interest rates and falling real incomes will result in a more pronounced slowdown in economic activity in both countries than most anticipate. In fact, we now expect New Zealand to enter a recession next year as the RBNZ will hike …
The decision by the Bank of Korea to raise its policy rate by a further 50bp (to 3.0%) indicates the central bank’s near-term focus will remain on combating inflation. But with growth slowing and price pressures already having peaked, we think the …
BoK hikes rates again, but tightening cycle drawing to a close The decision by the Bank of Korea to raise its policy rate by a further 50bp (to 3.0%) suggests the central bank’s near-term focus will remain on combating inflation. But with growth set to …
Central banks have the tools to deal with liquidity crises arising from rising interest rates and falling asset prices. Instead, the bigger threat is that higher interest rates produce large and simultaneous falls in asset prices that threaten the …
11th October 2022