Swedish Central Bank raises interest rate to keep inflation in check
The Swedish central bank has said it had decided to hike its leading interest rate by 0.25 percentage points, taking the repo rate to 2.25 percent to help keep a lid on inflationary pressures. The Riksbank’s goal is to hold inflation to less than 2.0 percent. Inflation has risen over the past year and stood [...]
Read more »NZ dollar slumps on Current Account Deficit
The New Zealand dollar NZD fell to a 10-week low against the USD on Thursday, after data showed the country’s current account deficit blew out to record levels in the first quarter. Long standing concerns about the size and sustainability of New Zealand’s current account deficit were rekindled by the worse-than-expected data. “The current account [...]
Read more »40 percent of Japanese want central bank chief to quit
Forty percent of Japanese questioned think embattled central bank chief Toshihiko Fukui should resign over a scandal in which he invested in a controversial fund, according to a new poll. The Bank of Japan governor has admitted keeping an investment in the fund of high-profile investor Yoshiaki Murakami, who was arrested earlier this month on [...]
Read more »US Dollar extends losses even with supporting US CPI results.
The USD extended losses on Wednesday after a higher-than-expected reading of U.S. inflation for May did little to dispel uncertainty about interest rate increases beyond an expected hike in late June. After seven consecutive sessions of gains in the dollar against the Euro, traders trimmed their positions after the Consumer Price Index data cemented the [...]
Read more »Bank of Japan’s credibility seen hit by chief’s scandal
Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui has opened a policy meeting with a cloud hanging over him in a scandal seen as weakening his credibility as he moves to end five years of zero-interest rates. Opposition lawmakers have called for Fukui’s resignation, saying he was unethical to have kept an investment in the fund of [...]
Read more »British inflation hits 2.2 percent in May
British 12-month inflation rose to 2.2 percent in May from 2.0 percent in April, lifted by soaring domestic energy bills and rising motor fuel prices, official data showed. May’s figure breached the Bank of England’s government-set target of 2.0 percent — and was the highest reading since October 2005 when it stood at 2.3 percent.
Read more »British wholesale prices rise 0.3 percent in May
British wholesale prices, or the cost of goods at the factory gate, rose by 0.3 percent in May from April. On a 12-month basis output prices rose by 3.0 percent, the Office for National Statistics said Monday. The annual rise was the biggest since September last year. The data was in line with analysts’ consensus [...]
Read more »US trade deficit grows to 63.4 billion dollars
The US trade deficit widened 2.5 percent in April to 63.4 billion dollars as imports of oil and cheap goods from China rose, the government said. The US trade performance was better than expected by economists, who had predicted an April figure of 65.0 billion dollars. The March deficit came to a revised 61.9 billion [...]
Read more »Tokyo urges Bank of Japan to stick with zero interest rates
Japan’s government has urged the central bank to maintain zero interest rates to allow the economy to recover as fears of a slowdown in US growth battered global stock markets. “We hope the Bank of Japan will support the economy with its monetary policies,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe told reporters.
Read more »South Korea raises rates again to dampen inflation
South Korea’s central bank has raised its key interest rate in a bid to head off mounting inflationary pressure amid high oil prices and an ongoing economic expansion. The Bank of Korea raised the June target for the inter-bank overnight call rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.25 percent after keeping the rate unchanged for [...]
Read more »Russia Shifts Part of Its Forex Reserves from Dollars to Euros
On Thursday, June 8, Russia became the latest in the list of countries that shifted a part of its Central Bank reserves from the USD. Sergei Ignatyev, chairman of the Central Bank, said that only 50 percent of its reserves are now held in dollars, with 40 percent in Euro and the rest in GBP. [...]
Read more »NZ Interest Rates Remain Unchanged
New Zealand’s central bank has kept its official interest rate steady at 7.25 percent despite slowing economic growth, citing a worse-than-expected outlook for inflation. Rising oil prices and a declining New Zealand dollar (NZD) is expected to see inflation rise to 3.9 percent this quarter, Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard said. Earlier forecasts had seen [...]
Read more »Surprise Interest Rates Rise in Turkey
To the surprise of us and almost everybody in the financial markets, the Central Bank (CB) raised its main policy interest rate by 175 bps to 15%. The average expectation for the rate increase in the market was around 50-75 bps, while we were not expecting anything more than 50bps. In the accompanying short note, [...]
Read more »Unemployment falls to 30-year low in Australia = Inflation?
Unemployment in Australia has fallen to its lowest level in 30 years, sparking market fears of a further hike in interest rates to curb inflationary pressure and a massive drop in stocks.
Read more »South African Reserve Bank hikes Interest Rates by 50bp!
The South African Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) decided to hike the key interest rate by 50bp to 7.50% at today’s monetary committee meeting – the decision was a bolt from the blue. The decision likely came as a reaction to increasing inflationary pressures in the economy as a result of strong domestic demand [...]
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