Inflation
Norges Bank sees room for improvement when forecasting wages
Evaluation of forecast performance shows both the central bank and other forecasters struggled to produce accurate estimates of wage growth and unemployment
Yellen willing to reassess 2% target
Fed chair says question of the right target level is one of the most important facing central banks today; wind-down of QE likely to be dull, she adds
FOMC votes for hike but stays cautious on outlook
Fed committee votes for second rate hike of 2017, but enthusiasm for further tightening appears to be fading
Term premiums matter for inflation – BoJ paper
Term premiums domestically and abroad appear to affect inflation via the exchange rate channel, authors find
Riksbank unveils results of web-scraping project
The big data technique for collecting prices could better capture volatile inflation components, allowing for more accurate forecasts, economists say
Inflation overshoot should affect adaptive part of expectations, says Kuroda
Bank of Japan governor says there is still a long way to go until the price stability target is achieved
Draghi flags wage weakness as he defends easing measures
“Very substantial” accommodation still needed, says ECB president; central bank is devoting resources to understanding low wage growth
Wage growth remains a concern for Australia – Lowe
Governor warns low wage growth is hindering household consumption; there are some signs the labour market is recovering, with employment growth registering stronger in recent months
BoJ’s Sakurai defends aggressive monetary easing
A member of the policy board says yield-curve control allows flexibility for the central bank to implement monetary easing
RBI looks to ease credit conditions as inflation projection falls
Rates on hold, but central bank is seeking to give banks more room to lend by easing capital and liquidity requirements; committee fends off possible government meddling
Uzbek senate appoints new central bank chief
Mamarizo Nurmuratov becomes chairman of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, following the death of his predecessor
Chinese monetary policy now more in line with G3 central banks – BIS paper
“Liberalisation and transformation” of the Chinese economy has led to changes in the PBoC’s monetary policy rule, and an improvement in inflation performance, authors say
Fed paper warns on helicopter money risks
Tool appears much less powerful when less realistic elements of the New Keynesian framework are removed; other options could work better, authors say
Inflation is preventing interest rates from rising faster, says Powell
Labour market progress points towards a faster pace of normalisation for the Fed, but below-target inflation is preventing rates from rising above the current “gradual pace”
Venezuela’s central bank devalues bolivar as crisis continues
Bolivar devalued 64% in latest currency auction in an attempt to stem effects of financial crisis; Goldman Sachs comes under fire from opposition leader
Bank of England threatened with strike action over pay
Union members to be balloted on strike after being awarded a “derisory” 1% pay rise; UK inflation currently running at 2.7% and forecast to rise further
Pace of monetary easing may slow, says Central Bank of Brazil
Committee unanimously cut interest rates to 10.25%, but political uncertainty could slow the future pace of easing; economist praises approach to monetary policy communication
Brainard turns cautious on inflation concerns
Lack of wage growth and lower than expected inflation data could slow further monetary easing, says Fed governor; interest rates are likely to rise “soon”
Bernanke urges BoJ to keep up its easing efforts
Former Fed chair recommends the central bank continue its aggressive easing, though he concedes “bad luck” could yet cause it to fail
Authors struggle to cut ‘price puzzle’ from Australian data
Authors find various approaches to removing the puzzle from VAR models fail for Australian data, calling into question the usefulness of the models
Sarb should leave monetary policy alone – IMF
South Africa’s current monetary policy stance is bringing inflation under control, fund mission says, advising the central bank to leave government reforms to do the legwork following downgrade
Central Bank of Egypt battles to contain devaluation impact
Inflation has rocketed since Egypt aligned official and black market exchange rates, forcing the central bank to take action
Riksbank proposes changes to inflation target
Central bank plans to use a variable that avoids short-term distortions, and to reinstate a band around the target
Peru cuts rates for first time in more than two years
Reversal in food prices prompts board into action, with inflation now expected to end the year within target band; central bank will remain attentive to external conditions