Monetary Policy
Eurozone QE ‘much needed’ but not enough for growth, Greek deputy says
Bank of Greece deputy governor Iannis Mourmouras praises ECB programme but suggests more measures needed from elsewhere; criticises poor sequencing of structural reforms in past
Draghi reasserts ECB’s willingness to act
Mario Draghi says there cannot be any limit to how far the ECB is willing to deploy its instruments within its mandate, after easing package meets with lukewarm reaction on markets
French and German central banks cut inflation projections for next two years
Falling energy prices main factor in downward revision of German and French central banks’ projected inflation rates for 2016 and 2017
Consensus key for moving forward in Greece, says central bank
Bank of Greece stresses need for ‘unobstructed’ implementation of creditor agreement, as it publishes latest interim report on monetary policy
BoJ’s Kiuchi wants to reduce flow of QQE
Board member says reduced flow of asset purchases would help relieve ‘excessive pressure’ on the Japanese government bond market and make monetary policy more ‘sustainable and stable’
Riksbank deputy open to scrapping CPI as target variable
Quirks of Swedish CPI make it awkward for use as the monetary policy target variable, Per Jansson says; bringing back tolerance band also a possibility
ECB extends asset purchases to March 2017 or beyond and cuts deposit rate
European Central Bank will continue buying assets until at least March 2017 as part of latest easing package; Draghi describes deposit rate as ‘driver’ of policy as council cuts it to -0.3%
Yellen signals growing confidence ahead of Fed decision
Fed chair expects some key headwinds to inflation to diminish next year; continued improvements in labour market and stable expectations help ‘bolster’ her confidence in a return to target
Turkish MPC has eyes on inflation and loan growth
The monetary policy committee of Turkey’s central bank notes year-on-year inflation fell due to drops in energy and food prices; cautious on currency depreciation and falling loan rates
BoJ deputy says underlying inflation has ‘steadily’ improved
Kikuo Iwata says CPI inflation, excluding energy and fresh food, has been making a positive contribution of around 1% recently; discusses latest projections
‘Gradual and low’ may be new normal for Fed, Brainard says
Lael Brainard says lower neutral interest rates and stubborn inflation make it likely the federal funds rate will need to be tightened ‘more gradually and to a lower level’ than in the past
South African review charts motivations behind resumption of tightening cycle
One of three chief considerations was the path of exchange rate and the risks it posed to inflation, which increased as the year went on
Historical data supports fiscal theory of the price level, Bundesbank paper argues
Data from the US, Germany and Italy give policy-makers useful data on the long-term influence of fiscal policy on inflation, a Bundesbank discussion paper argues
Rajan weighs currency movements while RBI holds rates
Governor Raghuram Rajan spells out challenges posed by divergence of dollar and euro in press conference after Reserve Bank of India keeps key rate at 6.75%
UK authorities extend Funding for Lending Scheme again
Bank funding scheme will now be tapered over two years, with new banks offered the chance to be involved; lending to SMEs up over the year
Colombia reinforces inflation target as it tightens policy
Central Bank of Colombia board expects to reach inflation target within two years; raises policy rate by 25bp to 5.5% as expectations increase
Egypt central bank ‘kept eyes on inflation’ as it devalued currency
Head of risk at Central Bank of Egypt says the institution considered wider impact of devaluations on the economy; staff welcomed new governor last week
ECB should not expand QE programme in December, Lautenschläger says
Sabine Lautenschläger tells German audience ECB’s loose monetary policy is necessary but asset purchases should not be expanded; only structural reform will bring about European recovery
Policy-makers must drop ‘obsession’ with competitiveness, Cœuré says
Policy-makers must drop their ‘obsession’ with competitiveness and focus on increasing productivity instead, Benoît Cœuré says; researchers need to question assumptions of ‘conventional’ theory
Researchers find ‘strong evidence’ of ECB policy spillovers to CEE countries
Working paper examines the spillover effects of the ECB’s ‘non-standard’ measures since 2007 on the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania
Nigeria cuts rates to encourage growth in ‘bold’ decision
The central bank lowers the policy rate by 200bps as part of a package of measures aimed at supporting growth and easing credit conditions
BoE advised to publish record of joint MPC/FPC meetings
Treasury Committee advises Bank of England to publish material from joint meetings of the MPC and FPC
Stevens calls for end to obsession with central forecasts
RBA governor emphasises the uncertainty around forecasting; says he considered abolishing the central line in fan charts
High expectations could be holding Japanese inflation down, Shirai warns
Study of US and Japanese households reveals, somewhat counterintuitively, that high inflation expectations may be a factor behind lower actual inflation