Inflation
Israel committee see risks to inflation outlook rising
Policy-makers at Bank of Israel discussed decline in short-term inflation expectations, a potential drop in growth and the strength of the shekel in August meeting
Riksbank is working on ‘big data’, says Skingsley
Deputy governor speaks to Central Banking about bringing together experts on big data, the possibility of leaning against the wind, risks in the housing market and more
US unemployment falls to 5.1% despite drop in jobs growth
Richmond Fed president describes it as a ‘right-down-the-middle-of-the-fairway’ unemployment report, as he spells out why the time is right to begin raising interest rates
Draghi stresses willingness to act as ECB cuts inflation forecasts
Governing council holds policy as ECB staff cut inflation forecasts over the forecast horizon; Mario Draghi stresses QE could run beyond September 2016 if necessary
BoJ’s Kiuchi warns 2% inflation unlikely ‘even in fiscal 2017’
Policy board member says Japanese inflation is unlikely to reach the central bank’s 2% target by the end of fiscal year 2017
Boston Fed president compares forthcoming rate hikes with past tightening cycles
Eric Rosengren finds this tightening cycle is likely to differ from those of 1994 and 2004, in that rates are set to rise more gradually and stop at a lower level
IMF urges central banks to retain easy monetary policy
Ahead of the G20 meeting in Turkey the IMF prepares a briefing on policy challenges; tells central banks to prevent real interest rates from ‘rising prematurely’
Carney says BoE can stay independent in face of globalisation
BoE governor says global factors ‘influence but do not dictate’ policy in speech at Jackson Hole; other economists argue central banks should do more to set policy with global dynamics in mind
Fischer upbeat on US inflation outlook at Jackson Hole
Fed vice-chair Stanley Fischer says there is ‘good reason’ to believe inflation will move higher as impact of rise in dollar and fall in oil prices dissipates
Case for higher inflation targets takes a knock at Jackson Hole
Thomas Jordan warns higher inflation ‘likely to be associated with considerable costs’ in longer run; academics see little benefit in the Federal Reserve targeting 4%
EAC officials highlight exchange rate pass-through concerns
Both central banks wary of potential for domestic inflation to increase in face of depreciating currencies; concerns over impact of external environment raised in EAC member statement
Indian central bank targets stronger rate transmission
Reserve Bank of India sees improvements in transmission of policy to money markets, but looks to strengthen credit channel as it transitions to inflation targeting framework
Lockhart still expects rate hike this year
Atlanta Fed president still expects Fed to start tightening ‘sometime’ this year but market expectations of a September hike have fallen
Venezuelan inflation still running at over 700%, expert says
Venezuela’s central bank appears to be unable to make any impact on soaring inflation levels and has not reported an inflation number this year, says Steve Hanke
Riksbank’s af Jochnick defends monetary policy stance
Interest rates cannot at present respond to growing risks in the housing market, Riksbank first deputy says, but they are helping to drive rising inflation and economic recovery in Sweden
FOMC forecasts perform better in short- than long-term, Fed paper finds
Forecasts prepared ahead of FOMC meetings from 1997-2008 considerably outperform benchmarks at short horizons, but the results are much more mixed in the longer term
Iceland hikes again amid inflation shock
Large wage increases force central bank to reassess its inflation forecast and hike rates for a second meeting in a row, with more likely to follow
Iranian deputy points to economic turnaround since Rouhani took office
Deputy governor says central bank has managed to impose new discipline on the economy, but sees room for improvement in the broader Islamic world
Eurozone inflation ‘may well have’ reached turning point
ECB governing council members suspect underlying inflation reached a turning point earlier this year, but feel it is too soon to say for certain, accounts from July meeting show
Can inflation derivatives help the ECB hit its inflation target?
The ECB could reinforce its pursuit of price stability by using inflation derivatives should current tools prove insufficient or the implementation of QE encounter technical difficulties
Nobel economist Sims on fiscal stimulus, Eurozone loss sharing and role of central banks
The Nobel laureate speaks with Christopher Jeffery about his scepticism regarding secular stagnation, the eurozone’s failings and the need for inflationary fiscal stimulus at the zero lower bound
Lockhart says Fed liftoff is ‘close’
Atlanta Fed president highlights ‘cumulative evidence’ of economic recovery and says he is willing to sanction the first rate increase in the face of ‘mixed data’
Sarb governor airs concerns over inflation expectations
Lesetja Kganyago says the five-year inflation expectations of analysts, business people and trade unionists are ‘uncomfortably close’ to top end of inflation target
US rate hike still a possibility after ‘solid’ jobs data
Federal Reserve still on track to hike rates later this year, possibly as soon as September, after latest jobs data shows 215,000 increase in nonfarm payrolls