Interest rates
Fed economists estimate natural rate still at rock bottom
Analysis implies policy rate is firmly in restrictive territory and may not remain high
RBA keeps policy rate steady
Decision comes after Australia’s inflation slows in May
ECB expresses concern over draft Belgian laws
Minimum saving account rates could harm financial stability and policy transmission
Rates round-up: Colombian central bank holds at 13.25%
Dominican Republic cuts rates, while other central banks in the region stay on hold
Equities look set to stay in FX reserves portfolios
Despite 2022 losses and higher bond yields, central banks maintain commitments to the risky asset class
Italian and Portuguese leaders criticise ECB policy
Right-wing Meloni and centre-left Costa both sound warning notes on rates
Brazil moves to adopt new targeting regime
National monetary council says it will aim for permanent inflation target from 2025
Kenya hikes 100 basis points at unplanned meeting
New governor says unexpected rise in inflation made rate increase necessary
Israeli government clashes with governor over banking law
Governor says law “crosses a red line” on independence, but pushes banks to raise rates
Riksbank raises rates and signals further tightening
Swedish central bank accelerates government bond sales and is looking to hedge currency risk
Policy has not been tight long enough – governors
Hot labour markets boost wages and core inflation, making inflation persistent
Low rates have small effect on bank profitability – researchers
A 100bp rate cut results in 5bp fall in banks’ net interest margins on average, study shows
ECB ‘cannot declare victory yet’ over inflation – Lagarde
President stresses rates will need to be higher for longer to defeat persistent inflation
SBP reverses course and hikes rates 100bp
State Bank of Pakistan raises key rate in emergency session as IMF deadline looms
Corridor systems most used to set monetary policy
Floor systems less popular overall but widely used with asset purchase programmes
RBI’s Shaktikanta Das on financial sector reform, sticking to inflation targets and the e-rupee
The Reserve Bank of India governor speaks about developing credible self-insurance and sizeable FX reserves, inter-dependence with government, non-bank and bank regulatory reforms, demonetisation, rupee internationalisation and daily UPI payments hitting…
Central banks face tough fight for ‘last mile’ of disinflation – BIS
Credit losses could rival global financial crisis in higher-for-longer scenario, institution warns
Bank of Mexico holds rates again
Board says rates will remain at current level “for an extended period”
NBER paper estimates demand for bank reserves in US
Fed needs global estimates of demand curve slope to maintain interest rate control, authors say
Latin America: Brazil holds rates despite president’s attack
Chilean board also holds policy, while Costa Rica cuts after inflation goes below target
Switzerland and Norway raise rates
Norges Bank expects further increases while SNB does not rule them out
BoE makes surprise 50bp rate increase
Central bank to review modelling framework after repeated forecast errors
Euro remained second reserve currency in 2022 – ECB report
Structural factors continue to hold back the euro as a reserve currency
Schnabel stresses inflation risks and need for tighter policy
ECB needs to err on the side of doing too much rather than too little, says board member