Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Norges Bank to become more dovish The Norges Bank is very unlikely to change its policy rate next week, but we think that it will push back the date at which it forecasts raising interest rates to the end of 2019. After all, the... 7th December 2017 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch SNB to sit tight as ECB taper eases pressure on franc Although the Swiss franc has weakened further over the past three months, we doubt that the Swiss National Bank (SNB) will sound any more relaxed about the exchange rate in its policy statement next... 7th December 2017 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Icelandic interest rates to remain on hold At its last meeting in November, the Central Bank of Iceland (CBI) kept policy on hold. Nothing has happened since then to alter our view that interest rates will remain unchanged until 2019. 6th December 2017 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Where are Icelandic policy rates heading? Forecasters have been wrong-footed this year by the Central Bank of Iceland’s (CBI) rate cuts. This appears to be because the CBI has started to put more emphasis on a different inflation measure, and... 9th November 2017 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Riksbank on hold ahead of ECB The Riksbank is unlikely to shift its policy stance until it sees firmer signals of the outlook for policy in the euro-zone. So despite above-target inflation in Sweden, we do not expect the Riksbank... 19th October 2017 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Housing market risks diminishing The recent slowdown in the housing market suggests that there is scope for monetary policy to be looser over the coming years than the Norges Bank currently anticipates. That said, we don’t expect any... 19th October 2017 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Monetary policy outlook clouded by political uncertainty We no longer expect the Central Bank of Iceland (CBI) to cut interest rates again this year. The Government’s collapse and prospect of a left-wing coalition taking power have increased the chance of a... 27th September 2017 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Norges Bank to signal no rate hike until 2019 The Norges Bank is likely to leave the key policy rate at 0.50% next week, and we think that it will also leave its interest rate forecast unchanged, showing no change in rates until 2019. Although... 14th September 2017 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch SNB to stick to dovish script despite franc’s fall At its meeting on 14th September, the Swiss National Bank will surely draw some comfort from the depreciation of the franc since it last met in June. But renewed geopolitical tensions and the ECB’s... 7th September 2017 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Riksbank on pause despite above-target inflation Economic growth and inflation have been stronger than expected since the Riksbank last met. Despite these developments, policymaker’s concerns about a sharp rise in the krona suggest that the Bank... 31st August 2017 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Slump in króna points to unchanged Icelandic rates At its last meeting in June, when it cut interest rates for the second time this year, the Central Bank of Iceland (CBI) left the door open to further rate cuts. But given that the króna has slumped... 16th August 2017 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Riksbank to drop easing bias Since the Riksbank last met in April, underlying inflation has been stronger than expected, international political risks have diminished and economic conditions in Sweden’s trading partners have... 28th June 2017 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Norges Bank to cut interest rate forecast The Norges Bank is likely to leave interest rates unchanged at its meeting in June, but we think that it will revise its rate forecast down. After all, while economic growth has strengthened since the... 15th June 2017 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch SNB to keep policy loose to support inflation’s rise The Swiss National Bank will once again stress after its meeting on 15th June that it remains prepared to act to prevent any significant renewed appreciation of the Swiss franc. Granted, the recent... 8th June 2017 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Icelandic rates to remain on hold for now Ahead of next week’s meeting, today’s soft GDP data are unlikely to concern the Central Bank of Iceland too much. The fact that last month’s interest rate cut has done little to stem the króna’s... 8th June 2017 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Central Bank Watch Icelandic rate cut on the cards Following the sharp drop in the Icelandic króna after the lifting of capital controls in March, we pushed back our forecast for an Icelandic interest rate cut from May to August. But since the... 11th May 2017 · 1 min read