Interest rates
Armenia central bank raises policy rate 50bp
Inflation forces rate hike, matching moves by other former Soviet republics
Colombia’s central bank revises up growth forecast
Board maintains rates at 1.75%, as IMF says delays in vaccination could hamper recovery
Peru’s central bank caps consumer interest under protest
Central bank governor and president say new law will damage the economy
Central banks remained net gold buyers in Q1
Rate of gold buying down on first quarter of 2020, as Hungary leads purchases
Tajikistan central bank announces rate hike
Currency devaluation in 2020 has added to inflationary pressure
Georgia central bank orders 100bp rate increase
Worsening inflation pushes central bank to raise policy rate to 9.5%
Riksbank maintains stimulus as it revises up growth forecasts
Swedish central bank says a return to negative rates is possible if inflation target is imperilled
Fed must clarify future of QE, IMF says
IMF warns that rising longer-term Treasury yields could have major impact
ECB makes no change as Lagarde warns of uncertainty
Lagarde says price pressures remain weak and cautions over possible Covid-19 variants
Bank of Canada tapers quantitative easing programme
Despite continuing pandemic, “the outlook has improved”, says Macklem
Emerging markets should prepare for higher rates – IMF article
Middle and low-income economies need to anchor fiscal policies after the pandemic is under control
Bank of Israel: vaccination fuelling rapid recovery
Inflation expectations are increasing, but headline figure still well below target
Is the ECB implementing yield curve control?
The eurozone has adopted a hybrid system – lying somewhere between the Fed’s QE and the BoJ’s yield curve control – that targets wider financing conditions
Sarb projects ‘sharp but incomplete initial recovery’
South African inflation forecast to rise on higher electricity and water prices
MMT rests on ‘untested statements’ – Richmond Fed paper
Authors warn that modern monetary theory rests on shaky foundations
Inflation in Sweden rises to 1.9%
Analysts say stable core inflation means Riksbank is unlikely to tighten policy
Sweden’s pension funds curb inequality, official says
Riksbank’s Ohlsson says collective funds mean high asset prices benefit wider population
Bank of Canada warns of possible housing pressures
BoC research highlights “vulnerabilities” as banks issue more high loan-to-income mortgages
Higher debt likely to expose EMs to stress – Brazil’s governor
Roberto Campos Neto argues Brazil’s higher inflation is due to temporary shocks
Rising rates could endanger emerging market recovery, IMF warns
“Divergent recovery” likely to create financial stability challenges, report says
A latent rise in r* could upend monetary policy
A rising natural rate could create serious challenges for policy-makers, write Jorma Schäublin and Philip Turner
Peru’s Velarde condemns interest rate cap law
Central bank gains power to fix maximum rates every six months
A rebuttal of Philip Turner’s criticism of the BIS ‘house view’
Robert Pringle critiques the key findings raised in Philip Turner’s occasional paper, ‘The new monetary policy revolution: advice and dissent’
A bellwether moment for CBDC plans
The launch of the ‘sand dollar’ may herald a new era of CBDCs as the Fed and ECB step up their preparations