Exchange rate
Bank of Canada deputy discusses price divergence with US
John Murray says prices in Canada have been lower than those in the US for much of the past 30 years; notes the exchange rate 'seems to be driving prices in the two countries away from each other'
ECB cut prompts record FX intervention in Serbia
Central bank expresses ‘firm and prudent’ resolve to lean against capital flows resulting from ECB rate cut, but eschews a fixed exchange rate
Emerging markets will 'suffer' as QE ends, say panellists
Guillermo Calvo, Vittorio Corbo and Maurice Obstfeld say emerging markets face a bumpy landing when Fed winds down QE, and some are better prepared than others
Krugman says ‘Greek-style’ crisis in US or UK would have ‘expansionary effect’
Economist extends Paul de Grauwe's point that countries borrowing in own currency are immune to self-fulfilling liquidity crises; says loss of investor confidence would raise output in large economies
Czech central bank starts targeting exchange rate
Czech National Bank finally says it will start intervening in the forex market, a year after it cut rates to the zero lower bound; Czech koruna almost hits target level straight after announcement
Bank of Russia slashes forex intervention target
Halved intervention target brings rouble closer to free-float; IMF tells central bank to maintain reform momentum and resist calls to loosen policy
China should be in ‘no hurry’ to relax capital controls, says ADB paper
Working paper makes recommendations for Chinese fiscal and monetary policy, including maintaining control over exchange rates and taking steps to curb the growth of shadow banking
Banque de France paper offers alternative to China's exchange rate regime
Banque de France working paper outlines alternative model to China's exchange rate policy involving capital mobility and no central bank intervention
IMF tells Turkey to fix flawed monetary policy framework
Article IV mission calls on central bank to ‘re-consider’ its policy framework, accusing policy-makers of targeting too many objectives and consequently failing to control inflation
Global banks reduce frictions in international capital flows, say NY Fed staff
NY Fed staff report findings are consistent with research on reduced incidence of crises in local markets where banks have branches or subsidiaries; effects appear to be heterogeneous
RBA quiet on further easing as it holds rates
Reserve Bank of Australia holds its key policy rate at 2.5% and omits earlier guidance on the prospect of an additional rate cut from accompanying statement
Bank of Jamaica will continue to tighten liquidity conditions
Governor Brian Wynter says central bank will keep on issuing ‘special securities’ to ensure exchange rate stability; unconcerned by recent increases in inflation rate
Belarusian chair Ermakova reveals how she tackled runaway inflation
National Bank of the Republic of Belarus chair Nadezhda Ermakova tells CentralBanking.com about the central bank’s efforts to deal with the 2011 currency and ensuing inflation crisis
RBI cuts overseas investment limit by three quarters
Reserve Bank of India unveils latest measure to halt the fall in the rupee's value - only days after announcing ‘open-ended' sales of short-term debt; issues clarifications on gold import restrictions
Central Bank of Peru grapples with Fed tapering while rooting for a US recovery
Peru is more insulated against shocks to its financial system than in the past but managing uncertainty has never been tougher, central bank governor Julio Velarde tells Central Banking
Philadelphia paper models export dynamics after large devaluations
Working paper says that exports responds ‘sluggishly’ to a large currency depreciation; creates a model to capture these dynamics and explore their macroeconomic impacts
BoJ and BoK vote to keep interest rates unchanged
Bank of Japan keeps rates at zero and will continue asset purchases for 'as long as necessary' to hit 2% inflation target; regional impact of possible US tapering remains uncertain
Worrell rules out devaluing Barbadian dollar
Central Bank of Barbados concerned by foreign exchange imbalance emerging in the economy; calls on government to reduce fiscal deficit in bid to avoid devaluation of currency
Low correlation between relative consumption and price not due to market inefficiency
Central Bank of Luxembourg paper attempts to explain why the correlation between real exchange rates and relative consumption is either low or negative
Kenyan central bank defends depreciating shilling
The Kenyan shilling has dropped almost 5% in value against the dollar since May; central bank insists this is a necessary rebalancing and does not pose any damaging inflationary pressures – yet
Currency appreciation not just bad news for exporters
The use of cheaper imported intermediates compensates for 0.2 percentage points of a 1% currency appreciation followed by proportionate drop in export sales, Czech National Bank study shows
IMF backs Czech forex intervention
Article IV says a ‘persistent and large undershooting’ of the Czech National Bank’s inflation target would warrant a weaker koruna; governor Miroslav Singer says board is coming round to the idea
Cape Verde aims to keep euro peg credible
Maintaining the Cape Verdean escudo’s peg to the euro is the central bank’s ‘main concern’; setting policy to stabilise its international reserves and – in turn – the peg
RBI 'forfeiting monetary policy discretion' in bid to keep rupee in check
Governor Duvvuri Subbarao says India is caught in an 'impossible' trilemma, forcing the bank to maintain rates in spite of sluggish growth and ebbing inflation