Monetary Policy
IMF Paper on forecasting ECB monetary policy
Monetary policy in the euro area is conducted within a multicountry, multicultural, and multilingual context involving multiple central banking traditions. This IMF Working Paper published February 2006 asks how this heterogeneity affects the ability of…
Garganas says eurozone inflation risks increased
Greek central bank governor Nicholas Garganas said on Friday 17 February that since December's hike in eurozone interest rates, inflation pressures have increased, partly due to rising oil prices.
St Louis Fed's Poole on inflation targeting
In the speech 'Inflation targeting' given on 16 February William Poole of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said an explicit inflation target would help the Federal Reserve do a better job of anchoring expectations and ensuring low and stable prices.
Fed's Pianalto says growth, stability go together
Cleveland Fed president Sandra Pianalto said Thursday 16 February that the Federal Reserve's twin objectives of price stability and growth go hand in hand.
Comment: Inflation targetting
A number of emerging market economies have encountered problems in the early stages of inflation targetting. The latest to hit some bumps in the road in is the National Bank of Romania.
Romania to keep 2006 inflation target
The National Bank of Romania this week published its third inflation report since adopting inflation targetting in August last year. Despite forecasts suggesting that inflation will overshoot the upper limit of this year's target, the central bank has…
The Bank of Japan’s high-wire act
An end to deflation is in sight, but Japan’s monetary-policy makers still fear the dangers of a collapse of the yen and of the bond markets, says Andrew Smithers.
Reflections on central banking
How has central banking changed in the past generation? Alan Greenspan gave his considered views at Jackson Hole in August 2005.
Greenspan’s legacy
Allan Meltzer explains how Alan Greenspan’s leadership of the Fed has re-written the rules of monetary-policy making.
Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy Report, Feb 2006
The Federal Reserve published its February 2006 Monetary Policy Report to the Congress on Wednesday 15 February. The U.S. economy should continue to perform well in 2006 and 2007. But higher energy prices will probably exert some restraint on activity…
Bernanke says more rate rises 'may' be necessary
Ben Bernanke told Congress on Wednesday 15 February that more US rate hikes "may" be necessary as the threat of higher inflation persists despite a year-and-a-half of steady tightening.
Sweden's Rosenberg on monetary policy
Sveriges Riksbank deputy governor Irma Rosenberg gave a speech on Tuesday saying new information made available since January appears to confirm indications in December that the development of economic activity is stronger than expected.
Pianalto on economic forecasts and monetary policy
In the speech 'Economic forecasts and monetary policy' given on 13 February Sandra Pianalto of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland said recent economic reports offer hints that the US economy may have rebounded from the weakness seen in the last three…
RBA Statement on Monetary Policy, February 2006
The Reserve Bank of Australia published its February 2006 Statement on Monetary Policy on 13 February. Global economic conditions are continuing to provide a favourable environment for the Australian economy, according to the report.
Albania to adopt inflation target
In this speech delivered in Vienna on January 18, 2006 the Governor of the Bank of Albania, Ardian Fullani, reiterates the central bank's intension to switch to fully-fledged inflation targeting.
Bank of Korea hikes rates again
The Bank of Korea raised its benchmark overnight call rate by 25 basis points at their monthly monetary policy meeting in Seoul yesterday. In doing so, governor Park Seung and his six fellow policymakers raised the overnight call rate to 4%.
BoJ - inflation to accelerate in Q1
The Bank of Japan's (BoJ) nine-member board ended Thursday's monetary policy meeting by keeping policy unchanged. BoJ governor, Toshihiko Fukui, said he expected inflation to accelerate in first quarter of 2006.
BoE leaves rates unchanged
The Bank of England left interest rates unchanged at 4.5% following its two-day monetary policy meeting. The bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) last cut rates in August 2005, when policy rates were reduced by 0.25%.
Comment: BoJ and inflation targeting
As the Bank of Japan's "quantitative easing" policy nears its end, the question of whether the central bank may soon set an explicit inflation target is being hotly debated. Although the BoJ is still resisting the adopting the framework, the tide may…
Australian rates unchanged
The Reserve Bank of Australia yesterday left the overnight cash rate at 5.5%, following its first interest rate meeting of the year. Australia is in the midst of its most stable economic period in three decades, with only one change in monetary policy in…
Research on inflation targetting
In this theoretical paper Felipe F. Schwartzman of Princeton University looks at how inflation-targeting central banks using target bands, as opposed to point targets, can go about addressing both inflation and stability biases.
Comment: Bernanke gets more time
The new Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, will have an extra day to listen to different opinions and pore over the latest data on the American economy at his first FOMC meeting. Yesterday's news that the March 28 meeting will be expanded could increase…
Indonesian rates on hold
The Central Bank of Indonesia yesterday left interest rates unchanged at 12.75% for a second month, as economic growth slowed down. Six interest rate increases since July have helped the rupiah recover from a four-year low on August 30 last year amid…
RBI third quarter review
On January 24 Reserve Bank of India governor, Dr Y Venugopal Reddy, presented the central bank's third quarter review of annual monetary policy for the year 2005-06.