Oil
IMF paper on GCC equity market spillovers
Fund study says Gulf Cooperation Council equity markets were exposed to US and regional losses during crisis
Oil prices do not follow random walk: Bank of Canada paper
Bank of Canada study attempts to tackle challenges in forecasting real and nominal oil prices
Fed took 'gamble' with QE: Reinhart
Federal Reserve former director of monetary affairs Vincent Reinhart pins volatile oil prices on Fed’s quantitative easing programme
Investors watch Saudi protests with interest
Sentiment in the bond markets has not been unduly affected by MENA tensions, but Saudi unrest could change that.
ECB rejects temporary price pressures argument; signals tightening
European Central Bank’s hawkish Thursday announcement shows a different interpretation of commodity price pressures, second-round effects, to Bank of England and Fed
Inflation may hit 5%, but we couldn’t have done it different: King
Bank of England’s Inflation Report says inflation will likely soar further; medium term outlook shifts slightly as spare capacity margin revised downwards
Israel’s Eckstein backs new gas levy
Bank of Israel deputy governor Zvi Eckstein supports committee recommendations on natural gas levy
Sudan bans some imports as forex shortage looms
Bank of Sudan bans imports of luxury items, goods with local substitutes, to conserve foreign currency; currency wobbles on secession, oil fears
IMF paper investigates drivers of extreme commodity price movements
Fund research looks to wine and crude oil prices to uncover the causes of volatility
Nigeria stands by Sanusi’s government barbs
Central Bank of Nigeria maintains governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s assertion that legislative branch absorbs quarter of all government overheads; comments spark anger from politicians
Norges Bank finds strong oil krone link
Norges Bank study shows strong co-movement between oil prices, krone exchange rate and interest differentials can provide useful benchmark for measuring currency
Norway’s global sovereign wealth fund tops Nkr3 trillion
Government Pension Fund Global market value reaches Nkr3 trillion milestone following a weakening krone
Nigeria close to setting up sovereign wealth fund
President Goodluck Jonathan proposes legislation to national assembly that will pave the way for a sovereign wealth fund, say reports
Southern Sudan on the brink of collapse: deputy governor
Central Bank of Sudan deputy governor says Khartoum has starved south of foreign currency, leaving it two weeks shy of economic crisis; oil spat thought to be linked to independence referendum
Norway’s wealth fund slumps to first loss in a year
Government Pension Fund–Global posts $25 billion loss for first quarter; fund’s equity portfolio takes a beating, led by BP shares
Trinidad to reap rewards of rising oil prices: Williams
Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago’s Williams predicts growth of 1.5%
IMF: inflationary risks minimal during recessions
Fund study shows advanced countries are at low risk of inflationary pressure when economy is running under capacity
IMF: Noughties oil swings driven by demand
IMF study says global oil demand shocks led to volatility in prices during last decade
Dallas Fed: Oil shocks driven by supply and demand factors
Dallas Federal Reserve study links variations in oil prices and US growth patterns over past four decades to endogenous shocks
Natural gas discovery sparks debate in Lebanon over SWF
Potential discovery of natural gas off the shore of northern Israeli coast sparks debate among Lebanese government officials over whether to create a new sovereign wealth fund
Central Bank of Kuwait – Quarterly Statistics Bulletin (Oct – Dec 2009)
Kuwaiti central bank’s Quarterly Statistics Bulletin shows lending improvements in the fourth quarter of last year, focused predominately on oil and gas sector
IMF: Liberalisation of trade can curb Iraqi inflation
IMF study finds mounting inflation in Iraq arising from oil monopolists can be lessened through open market policies
Iran’s central bank needs greater independence: research group
An Iranian research centre says Iran’s central bank requires greater autonomy from government if it wants to battle inflation
How worried should we be about deflation?
Dean Baker argues that fears over deflation have been greatly exaggerated. Policymakers should rather focus on reducing risk premia