Inflation targeting
Sarb’s Lesetja Kganyago on divergent monetary policies and new supervision
The governor of the South African Reserve Bank talks to Christopher Jeffery about navigating divergent monetary policies, South Africa’s new supervisory regime and nurturing new talent
Paraguay’s governor on the ‘new normal’ and inflation targeting
Central Bank of Paraguay governor Carlos Fernández Valdovinos explains why the global economy must adapt to the 'new normal' and how Paraguay is coping with falling commodity prices
Bullard challenges ‘backward-looking’ language in Fed statement on goals
James Bullard reveals he disagreed with an element of the Fed’s statement on longer-run goals, believing it failed to capture the importance of future expectations to inflation targeting
Floating exchange rate has led to more volatility, Norwegian paper says
Moving to inflation targeting regime prompted rise in volatility in nominal exchange rates, research says; no depreciation or appreciation trends evident, however
State Bank of Pakistan reveals first MPC members
Formation of monetary policy committee is part of a broader drive towards independence and inflation targeting; one seat remains unfilled
BoJ paper: inflation expectations do not match target
Study of ‘dissonance’ in forecasts between economic agents and the central bank finds people only believe the BoJ will hit its target in the short to medium term – after that, inflation drops
Brazil will adopt ‘necessary measures’ to control inflation, says Tombini
Tombini tells finance minister he expects inflation to return to midpoint of target range by the end of 2017; Brazil inflation breaches 10% for 2015
Riksbank minutes reveal debate over monetary framework
Board members welcome debate over target variable and possible reinstatement of tolerance band, but af Jochnick warns changes should not be made simply because of recent failures to hit target
IMF paper sees Indian food prices shaping inflation dynamics
Working paper suggests food inflation will continue to outpace non-food inflation in the coming years, while potentially contributing 1.25 percentage points annually to headline figure
Bank of Korea to adopt 2% target from 2016
Central bank scraps its target range in favour of a fixed point; inflation rises to 1% but board expects it to ‘continue at a low level’ in coming months
Challenging crosscurrents from divergent monetary policy
Divergent monetary policies around the world and challenges linked to China’s economic rebalancing present central bankers with some opportunities as well as numerous threats
Sarb’s Mminele fears a ‘lengthening drought’ in emerging market capital flows
Sarb deputy warns emerging market nations must maintain “utmost vigilance” as they are buffeted by the effects of divergent monetary policies and fears about the state of the Chinese economy
Inflation outcomes should not be sole criteria for judging performance, says RBNZ's McDermott
Assistant governor's comments come after policy reversal by RBNZ amid falling global commodity prices; staff article emphasises 'ex-ante' evaluation of monetary policy decisions
Kganyago defends bank’s inflation targeting regime
South African Reserve Bank governor insists striving to meet an inflation target is not the same as ignoring growth, in speech in Cape Town
Further rate hikes likely as Chile raises 25bp
Central bank lifts rate to 3.25% in first move in four years; analysts suggest the move is an effort to rein in expectations
Japan lashed by the Fed
The Abe government is using a questionable reading of history to justify policies that are increasing rather than reducing the gloom over Japan’s prospects
Negative rates working as planned, says Riksbank’s Cecilia Skingsley
Transmission of negative rates is working well and there is room to ease further, deputy governor says, despite the possibility of unwanted side effects; changing inflation target a ‘bad idea’
National Bank of Kazakhstan sets base rate for first time
Central bank sets new benchmark interest rate at 12% in first monetary policy meeting under inflation targeting framework
Case for higher inflation targets takes a knock at Jackson Hole
Thomas Jordan warns higher inflation ‘likely to be associated with considerable costs’ in longer run; academics see little benefit in the Federal Reserve targeting 4%
Inflation targeting should be improved, not replaced, RBA paper says
Rather than a ‘fundamental re-engineering’ of inflation targeting, central banks should adopt a flexible approach that pays some heed to output, authors argue
Sarb research updates forecasting model
Refinements to central bank’s semi-structural general equilibrium model aim to better reflect the South African economy over the inflation-targeting period
Nobel economist Sims on fiscal stimulus, Eurozone loss sharing and role of central banks
The Nobel laureate speaks with Christopher Jeffery about his scepticism regarding secular stagnation, the eurozone’s failings and the need for inflationary fiscal stimulus at the zero lower bound
Bank of Korea researchers dig into disaggregated data on inflation targeting
Adopting inflation targeting in Korea lowered the mean, volatility and persistence of inflation throughout the country, but a look at disaggregated data reveals more about transmission
RBI could see interest rate powers diluted by MPC proposals
Indian government publishes draft law that would establish an MPC dominated by external members; investment bank economist concerned by shortage of potential candidates