Inflation
Rajan says India should not change course, as he steps back from RBI
Governor announces his intention to return to academia after three eventful years at the helm of India's central bank, and urges policy-makers to stay strict on inflation
IMF staff warn BoJ against unconventional monetary policies
Fund staff tell Japan to launch even more fiscal and monetary stimulus, but caution against monetisation of the government's debt
Colombia to treat new credit line as ‘insurance’ against extreme shocks
IMF expands agreement with Colombia to $11.5 billion; deputy technical governor highlights role it has to play as economy goes through period of adjustment
Yellen offers helicopter money cautious support
Fed chair says central banks could "legitimately consider" stimulus by financing government spending but only in "extreme" circumstances and with an eye on the many cases where it has gone wrong
Argentina releases first inflation data following statistics overhaul
Prices for transportation, food and housing drive up inflation, which rose 4.2% in May; IMF reviews progress next month
Yellen says July hike ‘not impossible’ as Fed holds
Fed keeps policy unchanged as widely anticipated; expected path of interest rate hikes becomes more gradual while the long-run level is revised down again
BoJ economists shed light on quality-price dynamics
Study of large database of prices shows how firms take advantage of new product launches to raise prices partly due to higher quality and partly to maintain profits
Sarb bulletin charts divergence in survey expectations
For first time since 2014, average inflation expectations of analysts are higher than those of business people and trade unions; aggregate expectations for inflation to average 6.2% this year and next
Governor cites stabilising inflation as Bank of Uganda cuts
Bank of Uganda cuts policy rate to 15% on back of inflation outlook; Tumusiime-Mutebile says central bank wants to have an "impact" on the state of economy where possible
BoJ vigilant to bond market impact of QQE, Nakaso says
Central bank is monitoring effects of large-scale asset purchases and doing its best to maintain market stability, deputy governor says
External factors most important inflation driver, Mauritius survey shows
Inflation expectation shows 71% of stakeholders asked believe external environment is most important factor in inflation pattern; exchange rate viewed as second most important
Strong anti-inflationary monetary policy helps mitigate uncertainty shocks, Italian paper says
Central bank has better chance of mitigating uncertainty-driven recessions by following Taylor rule with high weight on inflation, paper finds
Yellen upbeat but concerned by weak jobs data
Janet Yellen expects continued progress to Fed’s objectives; says latest labour market report is “concerning” but warns against reading too much into it
Hitting inflation targets may be harder now, thanks to lower bound – paper
Working paper warns of potential for lower bound episodes to affect expectations of when they will occur in future, something that can act as a drag on inflation in the present
State money and bank money: lifting the fog around QE
Steve Hanke says economists are missing important details by focusing on interest rates, rather than the money supply
Book notes: A few hares to chase, by Alan Bollard
The former Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor has produced a interesting account of the life of engineer-turned-economist Bill Phillips
BIS paper: money growth-inflation link weakens, credit link grows
Authors find money growth is less important in driving price changes, but credit growth is becoming a more critical factor in financial crises
‘Uncomfortable’ currency depreciation important for adjustment – Sarb governor
Advantages to depreciation easy to overlook, says Kganyago, noting South African manufacturing and services exports have become more competitive as a result
Central Bank of Argentina raises reserve requirements
Argentina raises reserve requirements as it continues to fight high inflation; bank will introduce inflation-targeting regime in September
Bank of Jamaica lowers inflation target
Jamaica's central bank continues move towards inflation-targeting regime; bank forecasts inflation to fall within new target band by the end of the fiscal year
Turkish central bank continues monetary ‘simplification’ process
Upper band of interest rate corridor cut to 9.5%; inflation will be the main indicator for future decisions, bank says
Philadelphia Fed president sees potential for two or three hikes in 2016
Patrick Harker warns of needs to avoid “aggressive policy actions” in the future; expects both inflation and expectations to rise in the medium-term
SBP catches markets off guard with cut
State Bank of Pakistan’s MPC votes for rate cut after being split 5-5 in April, confounding markets’ expectations; inflation on the rise
Exports decline ‘worrying’ as Bank of Israel holds
Monetary committee cites "intensifying decline" in exports as it holds the policy rate at 0.1%; inflation dips to –0.9%, as growth figures disappoint