Growth
Paraguay cuts rates to 0.75%
Economic activity declined significantly in April, central bank reports
Covid-19 and oil: a tale of three countries
Oil-dependent nations are facing a crisis on two fronts. Central banks must now strike a balance between keeping inflation in check and restoring growth
Costa Rica cuts rates to lowest level in over 10 years
Covid-19 has accelerated a disinflationary trend, central bank says
US economy entering ‘bounce back’ phase – Powell
Fed chair forced to defend move to follow through with corporate bond purchases in Senate hearing
Fed policy is too tight given FOMC projections – former Fed economist
“An outlook that bad for that long is a clear sign that policy is too tight,” Joseph Gagnon says
UK GDP growth plunges to -20% in April
Figure is worst on record, but may be somewhat better than earlier official estimates
Fed promises to keep buying assets at current rate
Fed will hold accommodation in place for “however long it takes”, chair Jerome Powell says; FOMC releases first projections this year
Bank of Uganda cuts rate and warns of lasting disruption
Central bank cuts rates and narrows target band, as impact of Covid-19 in Uganda continues to play out
Central banking enters a new era
Central banks face a delicate balancing act to preserve their reputations as they evolve into ‘buyers of last resort’ and some of their actions appear functionally equivalent to ‘monetary financing’
ECB expected to sharply increase PEPP purchases
Central bank could start reinvesting PEPP securities and increase supranationals’ share
Campos Neto on reforming Brazil’s economy amid Covid-19 distress
The Central Bank of Brazil governor speaks about how Brazil is managing fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the benefit of large reserves, his plans to deploy emergency asset purchases and why he favours extending the IMF’s SDR funding
Banxico forecasts Mexican economy could fall by 8.8% in 2020
Central bank stresses the profound uncertainty to which the economy is subject
National Bank of Poland cuts rates again but predicts recovery
“Significant fall” in activity likely to reverse in latter part of the year, policy-makers say
Bank of Korea cuts policy rate to new record low
Bank of Korea slashes key rate to record low of 0.5%; economy is expected to grow at the slowest pace in over two decades due to Covid-19
The ECB, the lockdown and the monetary financing lock
The eurozone’s central bank may need to break its prohibition on monetary financing to fight the pandemic
Eurozone saw limited price convergence from 2001–11 – Bank of Spain
Researchers say this limited long-term alignment should be added to central bank policy framework
Economists race to merge epidemiology and macro
Promising results are emerging, but workable forecasts may be some way off
UK economy faces 30% contraction in Q2
NIESR estimate comes as official GDP figures show sharp decline in opening stages of lockdown
RBNZ nearly doubles asset purchase programme
Policy-makers aim to front-load stimulus as economy faces “significant and unprecedented decline”
Scale of Covid-19 impact shows up starkly in US stats
All of the US’s key macroeconomic indicators point to a dramatic slump
Could engineering higher inflation help manage fiscal deficits?
Fiscal and monetary co-ordination could be a workable option for the Covid-19 recovery, Chicago Fed paper finds
Sri Lankan central bank looks back at ‘dismal’ year
Economy was just recovering from terrorist attacks when Covid-19 hit, CBSL says
Strict lockdown could cause 37% quarterly GDP contraction – RBNZ
Assessment shows impact of containment measures on New Zealand’s economic output
CBRT battles external imbalance with dwindling reserves
Turkish central bank loses battle to keep lira under 7 as reserves shrink, but pressures may be easing