Inflation
Jordan: SNB does not expect ‘sustained’ price drop
Thomas Jordan says the Swiss central bank does not expect a deflationary spiral as inflation will return to ‘positive territory’ early in 2017
Nabiullina: Bringing down inflation still Bank of Russia’s main concern
Central bank governor tells parliament that inflation is still the ‘priority task’ despite announcing plans to rebuild forex reserves earlier in the month
Governor wants freer thinking at 65-year-old Bank of Korea
Juyeol Lee hints at coming shake-up, calling for openness to ‘creative ideas’ as central bank prepares to set new inflation target
BoE’s McCafferty says UK not yet in ‘true deflation’
External MPC member says ‘dangerous but rare’ deflation has not taken hold in the UK, although inflation expectations have shifted down slightly
Sarb deputy wary of weaker currency with inflation rising
Daniel Mminele warns any ‘significant weakening’ in the South African rand in response to a Federal Reserve rate hike could cause inflation outlook to deteriorate
Virus outbreak prompts Bank of Korea rate cut
Deadly Mers virus a key factor behind central bank’s decision to ease policy as economic recovery shows signs of faltering
Kiwi slides as RBNZ cuts OCR to boost demand
Reserve Bank of New Zealand cuts key rate to 3.25% and suggests further easing could follow; kiwi drops to lowest level against US dollar in almost five years in aftermath
Iceland raises rates by 50bp and warns more will follow
Central bank says it will take ‘appropriate countervailing measures’ if the increase in government revenues from failed bank asset tax is used to stimulate the economy
BoJ’s Sato says QQE becoming harder to implement
Takehiro Sato warns easing programme risks undermining confidence in central bank policy by eroding fiscal discipline, making interest rates harder to control
IMF tells Fed to wait until 2016 to hike rates
Fund says keeping rates lower for longer would provide ‘valuable insurance’ against disinflation; encourages Fed to hold more press conferences and publish quarterly monetary policy report
Draghi warns high volatility here to stay
Government bond yields continue to climb as Draghi says ‘we should get used to periods of higher volatility’ with interest rates on the floor; ECB keeps policy unchanged
Hungarian central bank to adopt new policy rate
From September it will use the rate on a new deposit facility with a longer maturity, to encourage banks to park funds with the government instead of the central bank
Boston Fed president preaches patience
Eric Rosengren says it is too soon to know whether weaker economic activity at start of year is down to temporary factors or ‘broader changes in the economy’
IMF pushes Belarus to adopt new policy framework
International Monetary Fund tells National Bank of Belarus to adopt monetary targeting framework ‘without further delay’; staff and national authorities disagree over exchange rate
St. Louis Fed’s Bullard makes case for NGDP target
Working paper questions appropriate monetary policy response at zero lower bound and explores the mechanics of a ‘special upward adjustment’ in the price level on credit market
Swiss National Bank open to buying foreign assets
IMF article IV report suggests buying foreign assets to address deflationary pressures; Swiss National Bank says it is an option but wants to see how outlook develops before easing further
Central Bank of Iceland prepares for ‘substantial’ interest rate increases
Minutes show MPC grappling with uncertainty around pay increases but board members agree interest rates will soon have to move upwards sharply; one member dissented from rate hold
Kuroda sees little difference between major central banks
Despite the different wording of the major central bank mandates there is ‘little practical difference’ between them, BoJ governor says
Riksbank deputy debates inflation target change
Cecilia Skingsley weighs up case for both lowering and increasing target; notes it would be easier to change target if several central banks did it at the same time
BoE’s Weale warns MPC may have underestimated oil price impact
A failure to grasp the full importance of ‘tail events’ may have caused the monetary policy committee to underestimate the strength and duration of the oil shock’s impact on inflation, Weale says
Balance sheet policies may not be enough to lift expectations, Dutch research finds
Working paper analyses the impact of credit and quantitative easing policies on inflation expectations, finding central banks may need to do more to lift them
CPI not ideal for comparing inflation rates, research finds
Economist at Sveriges Riksbank says CPI is a good measure of inflation but is ‘not well suited’ to making international comparisons of inflation rates
ECB’s Cœuré says higher inflation target not solution to zero lower bound
Benoît Cœuré says raising the inflation target or abolishing the currency is not the right way to make monetary policy more effective; structural reforms a better use of political capital
Minneapolis Fed essay suggests new focus for FOMC comms
Sam Schulhofer-Wohl argues the FOMC should talk more about what it is trying to accomplish with its monetary policy; Minneapolis Fed staff rewrite January statement to illustrate point