US dollar
Venezuela central bank launches new banknotes amid soaring inflation
The bolivar has weakened to unprecedented levels as inflation soars and political instability engulfs the nation; new note series’ highest denomination is 200 times larger than current highest
BIS’s Shin links dollar strength to global malaise
Head of research outlines how dollar strength affects leverage globally, causing deviations from covered interest parity and potentially impacting growth and trade
Jamaica establishes foreign exchange market working group
Governor Wynter calls meeting to inform market about new group, established to formulate proposals to address the depreciation of the Jamaican dollar
Zimbabwe to print $75 million in ‘bond notes’ in 2016
Reserve bank to issue US dollar-“equivalent” notes despite criticism from the general public; incentive facility to be backed by Afrimexbank
BIS survey points to turnaround in global forex volumes
Latest survey suggests more than a decade of growth may have come to an end, as data points to a restructuring away from spot trades towards derivatives
Data gaps hamper work on emerging market vulnerabilities – BIS paper
Large debt stocks, particularly in foreign currencies, point to vulnerabilities in some emerging markets, but gaps in the data are hampering analysis, BIS economists say
BoJ boosts ETF purchases in face of global uncertainty
The Bank of Japan nearly doubles pace of ETF purchases to ¥6 trillion per year, and introduces measures to smooth funding in foreign currencies; stock market and exchange rate rise on the announcement
Liberia in line for new largest banknote
Liberia to have first new banknote series in 16 years, including a L$500 for the first time; all notes to be printed on a “higher-quality substrate”
IMF changes method for calculating SDR currency amounts
IMF will switch to new SDR basket in October, including renminbi for the first time; calculation will use new rounding methodology aimed at minimising deviation from weightings
Chile expands dollar holdings, central bank annual report shows
Central Bank of Chile reserve allocations in euro, Canadian dollar and Australian dollar fall, as dollar holdings rise
Dollar strength behind breakdown in economic paradigm, says Shin
BIS head of research points to failure of covered interest parity post-2008, with the strength of the US dollar correlated with the size of market anomalies
Borio: Pluralism may not be answer to weakness in international system
Claudio Borio sees the “main problem” in the international monetary and financial system as the lack of an effective anchor, and is not sure greater pluralism addresses this
Inflation targeting ‘key' for successful de-dollarisation – IMF working paper
Peru's success story suggest "sound" monetary and macro-prudential policy can help de-dollarisation, paper says; favourable global environment helped in case of Peru
Women feature heavily on new US dollar designs
Final designs to be announced in 2020, Treasury secretary announces; while security features are yet to be announced, multiple historic female figures will be incorporated into designs
Senior deputy plays down Indonesia’s external debt burden
Mirza Adityaswara says debt burden safer than it looks; defends mandate requiring domestic deals be made in rupiah and admits loan rates "probably too high" at Hong Kong conference
Monetary policy takes time to influence inflation, Tombini tells senate
Brazil governor says central bank will not “shy away” from acting to lower inflation; target of 4.5% to be reached by the end of 2017
Currency networks shape global spillovers, BIS authors find
Authors make use of recently enhanced BIS data sets to map currency networks, studying how these affected the risk-taking channel of monetary policy during the ‘taper tantrum’
Venezuela revamps foreign exchange regime
Government moves to exchange rate system, offering an official and floating rate to market participants; second sets of changes in as many years
Renminbi to be identified in IMF Cofer database
IMF countries able to record renminbi holdings from October; inclusion in database recognises "continuing internationalisation" of currency, staff say
Central American central banks move to upgrade regional payment system
Central bank governors from Central America draw up action plan, detailing faster payment times; Costa Rica to be fully integrated in ‘short space of time’
Democratic Republic of Congo moves to stabilise currency following unscheduled MPC meeting
Central bank outlines plans to sell foreign currency and increase reserve requirements; calls on government for supporting measures
Caruana marks out dangerous nexus between debt, oil and the US dollar
BIS chief points to interactions of dollar borrowing by emerging markets, US rate hikes and the oil price, as latest data suggests world may be balanced on the edge of a drop in global liquidity
IMF staff urge caution on Kyrgyz de-dollarisation plans
Central bank plans to support borrowers with foreign currency exposures, but IMF team warns this must be backed by other policies; action also needed on central bank independence, it says
Lagarde looking for ways to bolster global safety net
IMF head wants to address ‘fragmented and asymmetric’ safety net that has emerged since the 2008 financial crisis, noting the fund will consider the issue over the next few months