Asia Economics Update First Philippine rate rise still some way off Today the Philippine central bank, as expected, left its policy rate unchanged at 4% and retained a neutral bias. Damage from recent storms has made the near term outlook more uncertain. But we still... 5th November 2009 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update MPC scales down QE, but may not be finished The Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to extend its quantitative easing (QE) programme by only £25bn today presumably reflects the recent improvement in some of the economic indicators. But with... 5th November 2009 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank Indonesia stays on hold but rate hikes still close Bank Indonesia (BI) left its policy rate at 6.5% today, as expected. The neutral bias was retained too, probably with the aim of trying to curb rupiah appreciation. Rupiah strength is relevant to the... 4th November 2009 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australian rates to keep rising near term but pause mid-2010 The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised its cash rate to 3.50% today, as expected. We still expect another hike in December but this is now not much firmer than a 50:50 call. The bigger picture is... 3rd November 2009 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Falling unemployment eases pressure on Bank of Japan The Bank of Japan has announced a timetable for the withdrawal of some emergency facilities that have become increasingly redundant. But the Bank’s own forecasts of persistent deflation confirm that... 30th October 2009 · 1 min read
BoE Watch Another £50bn of fireworks We anticipate more monetary fireworks from the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its meeting on 5th November. With the previous extension to its quantitative easing (QE) programme now complete and... 29th October 2009 · 1 min read
ECB Watch No hints of tighter policy The ECB will leave interest rates on hold at 1.0% at its November policy meeting and we do not expect it to announce any significant change in its policy of providing generous loans to the banking... 29th October 2009 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update RBNZ in no rush to hike The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), as expected, left its cash rate unchanged at 2.5%. More surprisingly, the RBNZ also remained committed to keeping rates low into the second half of 2010, an... 29th October 2009 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Vietnam rate hikes inevitable and should be aggressive Vietnam’s central bank today confirmed that its key base rate will be left unchanged for the rest of 2009. But rate hikes look necessary from early 2010 and the policy tightening next year is likely... 28th October 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Norges Bank becomes the third central bank to raise rates The widely anticipated decision by the Norges Bank to raise interest rates from 1.25% to 1.50% made it the third central bank to tighten monetary policy, after Israel and Australia, during the current... 28th October 2009 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia set for the slow lane Bank Negara, as expected, kept policy rates unchanged today and will likely keep rates low for a long time. Malaysia’s upswing is less established and inflation pressures are low, especially when... 28th October 2009 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Reserve Bank of India will hike soon India’s Reserve Bank (RBI) kept its key policy rates unchanged today, but also put the markets on notice to expect monetary tightening soon. Worries about the recovery are diminishing fast and the RBI... 27th October 2009 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Swedish Riksbank in no hurry to raise interest rates The Swedish Riksbank’s latest economic forecasts suggest that a tightening in monetary policy remains a long way off. This supports our view that interest rates are unlikely to rise as quickly or as... 22nd October 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Swedish Riksbank in no hurry to raise interest rates The Swedish Riksbank’s latest economic forecasts suggest that a tightening in monetary policy remains a long way off. This supports our view that interest rates are unlikely to rise as quickly or as... 22nd October 2009 · 1 min read
