Filtered by Topic: Monetary Policy Use setting Monetary Policy
Rising interest rates will result in the RBA making further losses in the years ahead. The Bank’s existing reserves should be enough to absorb those losses in a benign scenario, but the Bank will stop paying a dividend. And in a worst-case scenario, the …
9th November 2021
Economic growth has slowed sharply as output approaches its pre-pandemic level. We think that GDP will probably increase by only around 0.5% q/q in the final quarter, down from 2.2% in Q3. Manufacturing firms in Germany are struggling more than most and a …
8th November 2021
While the Fed announced tapering as expected at its meeting this week, the big surprise was how dovish the language in the statement and press conference remained, which suggests to us an increasing risk that the Fed is falling behind the curve. Chair …
5th November 2021
Chile: red-hot recovery starting to boil over Strong September activity (Imacec) data out of Chile this week adds to signs that that the economy is running hot, which will put more pressure on the central bank to take some steam out of the recovery. The …
Transition from coal poses big challenge to Asia If the ambitious targets laid down by the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit the rise in global temperatures to less than 2°C (and preferably 1.5°C) compared to pre-Industrial levels are to be met, then global …
You’re not dreaming: Israel passed a budget For the first time in more than three years, Israel’s government has brought some stability to the public finances by passing the 2021 and 2022 budgets. These are not game changers as far as fiscal policy is …
Yesterday’s 1.5% weakening in the pound against the US dollar to $1.35 and the 20 basis point decline in 2-year gilt yields to 0.43% show that the markets are reassessing the Bank of England’s inflation fighting credentials. And who can blame them. At the …
After failing to push back convincingly against financial markets’ expectations for rate hikes in last week’s press conference, ECB policymakers were out in force this week insisting that the Bank will not raise rates next year. Christine Lagarde said the …
RBNZ to hike by 50bp later this month The sharp decline in New Zealand’s unemployment rate last quarter came despite the strict lockdown implemented in Q3. What’s more, most measures of labour market slack included in the RBNZ labour market suite showed a …
Hike in reverse repo rate not imminent Recent measures by the RBI to further drain liquidity from the banking system have been fuelling hawkish monetary policy expectations. Overnight index swap rates have jumped over the past week. And several analysts …
The Czech National Bank (CNB) shocked everyone with a 125bp interest rate hike at today’s meeting and while this was clearly intended to front-load tightening, the hawkish communications suggest that the tightening cycle still has some way to go. We …
4th November 2021
By leaving interest rates at 0.10% and continuing its QE asset purchases, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) didn’t set off any early fireworks today. But it did throw on the bonfire the markets’ expectations that interest rates will rise to 1.0% by the …
Following yesterday’s taper announcement by the Fed, and ahead of the knife-edge decision by the Bank of England later today (we forecast a 15bp rate hike), this morning’s announcement from the Norges Bank was less eventful. Norwegian policymakers …
The Fed unveiled its QE taper today, as widely expected, but is still insisting that the surge in inflation is "largely" transitory, which suggests the doves have the upper hand. The Fed announced that it will reduce the pace of its asset purchases …
3rd November 2021
The National Bank of Poland’s (NBP) decision to raise its policy rate by a larger-than-expected 75bp to 1.25% alongside the upwards revision to its inflation forecast suggests to us that the NBP is taking the fight against inflation much more seriously …
Fed set to announce the start of asset purchase tapering (Wednesday 18.00 GMT) We expect the BoE to hike its policy rate by 15bp, to 0.25% (Thursday 12.00 GMT) We think the composite PMIs for Italy and Spain fell in October (Thursday) Key Market Themes We …
While the recent rise in the yields of short-dated developed market (DM) government bonds looks overdone to us, we still think that the yields of long-dated bonds will resume their rise . Charts 1 and 2 show that DM yield curves have flattened …
The economic and political backdrop in Turkey is eerily similar to that which preceded the currency crisis in 2018, although one key difference now is that the lira doesn’t appear to be fundamentally misaligned. The upshot is that, even if the lira were …
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) left its main policy rate unchanged at 1.75% today, and with inflation set to remain subdued, rates are likely to stay on hold at their current all-time low throughout next year. We think financial markets are getting well …
If the RBA hiked rates by nearly 200bp as the financial markets were anticipating until recently, households’ debt servicing burden would hit an all-time high and housing would become the least affordable since the global financial crisis. That would slow …
We expect Poland’s central bank to hike rates by 25bp The euro-zone’s unemployment rate probably fell in September (10.00 GMT) The Fed is likely to announce the start of asset purchase tapering (18.00 GMT) Key Market Themes Although near-term inflationary …
2nd November 2021
The RBA abandoned its yield target and its pledge that rates will remain low until 2024 today, but still sounded dovish. While the financial markets expect the first rate hike in May next year, we expect the Bank to wait until early-2023. The Bank pinned …
Fed likely to announce start of tapering, and signal concerns about inflation (Wed.) We think that the BoE will be the next DM central bank to hike rates (Thu.) Labour shortages probably continued to limit US employment growth (Fri.) Key Market Themes …
29th October 2021
Following the Bank of Canada’s hawkish message this week there is a risk that it raises interest rates sooner than we anticipate. Nevertheless, we continue to doubt that the Bank will hike by as much in the coming years as market pricing now implies. The …
BCB between a rock and a hard place Brazil’s central bank (BCB) can’t win. The further falls in the real after the whopping 150bp hike in the Selic rate on Wednesday suggest that investors didn’t think that policymakers went far enough to allay concerns …
Two key points from the Budget Budget day produces a flurry of analysis but the most interesting reflections tend to come once the dust has settled and everyone has had time to digest the documents. Two points stand out to us. The first relates to the …
The ECB stuck to its script this week, with Christine Lagarde claiming that, after some “soul searching”, the Bank was comfortable with its view that the recent surge in inflation will prove to be transitory. Also, she didn’t sound too worried that other …
Strong rebound in Sweden Data released this week showed that Sweden’s economy grew by a stronger-than-expected 1.8% q/q in Q3, but the data weren’t as encouraging as they first appeared. The upside surprise in the third quarter was largely due to a …
Trimmed mean inflation rose to 2.1% in Australia in Q3, the first time it has entered the RBA’s 2-3% target band since 2015. Even more strikingly, trimmed mean inflation in New Zealand rose to 4.4%, way above the top end of the RBNZ’s 1-3% target. One …
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) kept interest rates unchanged at Thursday’s MPC meeting amid rising price pressures. Against this backdrop, we think that the central bank is likely to delay the resumption of its easing cycle until the middle of next year. …
RBA throws in the towel With retail sales rebounding even before lockdowns ended and nearly 90% of the population now fully vaccinated, our previous forecast that consumption will rebound by just 3.5% q/q in Q4 following a 10% q/q plunge in Q3 is no …
Despite a flurry of media reports in September hinting at widespread disruption, the data suggest that China’s recent power shortages have not been too severe. Electricity output actually rose 0.6% in seasonally-adjusted m/m terms last month, the fastest …
The ECB stuck to its script today, arguing that although the increase in inflation now underway will be larger and last longer than previously anticipated, it is still temporary. Meanwhile, confirmation that the PEPP will end in March tells us nothing …
28th October 2021
Table of Key Forecasts Overview – The EM recovery is now entering a more difficult phase as the boost from economic re-opening fades, supply shortages bite, growth in China weakens and the terms of trade worsen for major commodity producers. Lower vaccine …
Investors may be right that the MPC will hike rates in November or December But we think they are wrong to price in rates rising as far as 1.25% by end-2022 Our new forecast is for rates to rise to 0.50% by February, but no higher next year We now think …
COVID-19 vaccine coverage remains pitifully low across much of Sub-Saharan Africa, with less than 10% of populations having received at least a first dose in most countries. But there are signs that things may be slowly turning a corner. The rate of …
The Bank of Japan shocked no one in keeping its interest rate targets unchanged today, a status quo we think will last for years. The Bank also revised down its growth forecasts for the current fiscal year and signalled that policy will have to remain …
The Brazilian central bank’s decision to up the pace of tightening to a 150bp rate hike (which took the Selic rate to 7.75%) was a clear response to concerns about a looser fiscal stance. With fiscal risks likely to persist, we now expect a 150bp hike in …
The Gulf countries will be among the biggest winners globally from the recent rally in energy prices but most other parts of the Middle East and North Africa are net oil importers and are likely to be negatively affected. Higher energy prices will push up …
27th October 2021
Overview – Extremely low vaccine coverage continues to cast a dark cloud over recovery prospects in Sub-Saharan Africa and this will be compounded by deteriorations in the terms of trade and tighter fiscal policy. As a result, rebounds in most economies …
The Bank of Canada called time on its QE program today and indicated that it could raise interest rates as soon as the second quarter of next year. The Bank’s GDP forecasts still look too upbeat to us, however, so we expect it will wait until the third …
Fed to announce $15bn per month asset purchase taper beginning in November Statement may reveal growing concern about higher inflation… …but we still expect weaker GDP growth to delay rate hikes until 2023 The Fed is set to announce at next week’s FOMC …
The near-term outlook for South East Asia has improved dramatically over the past month or so. Daily cases of COVID-19 have collapsed and are now less than one-third of the level they were at in August. With vaccination rollouts also making good progress …
Money growth has slowed this year and is likely to decline further next year. Meanwhile, although the pandemic has resulted in a huge increase in the money supply, we do not think this will cause inflation to rise because the relationship between the …
Underlying inflation strongest in years, but wage growth has yet to pick-up RBA to shift forward guidance for first rate hike to 2023 in February, ditch yield target We think the first hike will happen in early-2023 The acceleration in underlying …
The growing likelihood that Brazil’s government will circumvent its spending cap adds to broader signs that austerity is becoming politically difficult to implement across the region. For instance, Ecuadorian President Lasso recently U-turned on a plan to …
26th October 2021
Table of Key Forecasts Global Overview – The global recovery will slow in the coming quarters as the initial post-lockdown rebound fades and policy support is reduced. At the same time, supply shortages are likely to persist well into next year, which …
COVID-19 outbreaks have surged across the region in the past month. Record high daily cases have been reported in Russia, Romania, Bulgaria and Latvia and infections are rising sharply elsewhere. Governments have tightened containment measures, including …
Wage growth remained moderate over the summer but, with labour shortages intensifying, it seems likely to accelerate sharply soon. The Bank of Canada’s third-quarter Business Outlook Survey (BOS) added to the evidence of widespread labour shortages, which …
Overview - The economy slowed sharply in Q3. Weakness in services is already reversing as virus controls have been relaxed again. But industry and construction are on the cusp of a deeper downturn that could pull down China’s growth to just 3% next year. …
