Exchange rate
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
Paper finds evidence in favour of ‘exchange-rate-anchored inflation targeting’
A working paper published by the IMF finds ‘tight management’ of the exchange rate can help support inflation targeting in ‘less developed countries’
Central bank models need to adjust to nature of exchange rate pass-through, paper says
Exchange rate pass-through shown to be incomplete, endogenous, nonlinear and asymmetric; working paper seeks to quantify effect over time
Debt deal struck but ‘heated’ discussions await Argentine president in congress
Vulture funds satisfied but Argentine president faces an ‘uphill’ battle getting deal through congress; analysts ultimately expect it to be approved, but see other challenges on the horizon
Colombian inflation measures might be ‘overstating’ true level – research
Some core inflation measures are failing to filter the impact of exchange rate on prices; policy-makers must be aware of the risk of expectations losing their anchor
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
RBA deputy sets out potential changes to interest rate benchmark
Debelle emphasises importance of the bank bill swap rate, outlines possible reforms including lengthening the window in which transactions are used to calculate rate
BoE officials grilled on weakening sterling
Members of the MPC ask whether the depreciation of the currency will cause the Bank of England to hike; Treasury Committee raises questions over EU referendum
Paraguay’s governor on the ‘new normal’ and inflation targeting
Central Bank of Paraguay governor Carlos Fernández Valdovinos explains why the global economy must adapt to the 'new normal' and how Paraguay is coping with falling commodity prices
Peso depreciation casts shadow over Mexico rate decision
Central bank adamant it is not in a hiking cycle after 50bp rise; government taking steps to enforce measures on Pemex
Namibia hikes to ‘align’ rates in region
Bank of Namibia hikes by 25bp to 6.75%, following decision in South Africa in January after depreciation of rand hit inflation outlook
Visitors to ‘play policy-maker’ at new MAS gallery
Monetary Authority of Singapore launches latest financial literacy initiative; visitors able to ‘play policy-maker’ through interactive programs
China relaxes QFII limits amid calls for capital controls
FX regulator shortens ‘lock-up’ period, during which foreign investors must wait before repatriating funds, from one year to three months
IMF staff tell Turkey to fix imbalances
Fund mission says central bank must tighten policy to head off growing external imbalances and inflation; low oil price keeping a lid on problems but longer-term solutions needed
Floating exchange rate has led to more volatility, Norwegian paper says
Moving to inflation targeting regime prompted rise in volatility in nominal exchange rates, research says; no depreciation or appreciation trends evident, however
Kganyago reiterates ‘hiking cycle’ as Sarb raises rates
Risks noted at previous MPC meeting are now materialising; continued volatility expected in the exchange rate
Analysts see Hong Kong peg under scrutiny
Hong Kong dollar reached lowest level in nearly a decade this week, putting long-standing peg ‘under fresh scrutiny' and prompting fears of possible attack
IMF cuts global growth forecast on back of EM challenges
Maurice Obstfeld says emerging markets and developing economies account for more than two-thirds of revisions; largest changes come in Brazil, where the MPC meets today
Growing case for planning Cambodian de-dollarisation, paper says
Cambodia needs a strong macroeconomic framework for de-dollarisation to be successful, research says; economic and political stability a good starting place
Sarb deputy governor sees growing inflation risks ahead of MPC meeting
South African Reserve Bank policy-makers must assess ‘very carefully’ whether its stance remains appropriate, Mminele says; MPC meets January 21
SNB’s Zurbrügg lays out considerations around interventions
Vice-chairman of governing board says there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ method for deciding when or how to intervene in the foreign exchange market
PBoC looks to expand lending programme for SMEs
Central bank to 'steadily advance' refinancing scheme as economy expected to slow further; Ma Jun clarifies PBoC's position on exchange rate fluctuations
Brazil will adopt ‘necessary measures’ to control inflation, says Tombini
Tombini tells finance minister he expects inflation to return to midpoint of target range by the end of 2017; Brazil inflation breaches 10% for 2015
Bank of England paper explores exchange rate pass-through using ‘big data’
Author finds the pass-through to import prices varies depending on the size of the exchange rate movement at the micro level, but it is a different story at the macro level