Inflation
Bank of Russia cuts key rate by 200bp
Central bank cuts rate to 15% just one month after raising it by 650bp to 17%; points to the risk of a ‘sizeable decline in economic activity’ as the motivation for the decision
Brazil's central bank says inflation progress ‘not enough’
A rise in regulated prices is fuelling Brazil’s inflation, which rose 6.69% in January; minutes from latest MPC meeting suggest dissatisfaction with level despite rate hikes
Kganyago: Sarb taking ‘pause’ in normalisation
South African Reserve Bank holds repurchase rate at 5.75%, but monetary policy committee agrees the ‘lower inflation path’ creates the chance to ‘pause’ its tightening cycle
Upbeat Fed statement keeps mid-year rate hike alive
Federal Reserve keeps policy on hold but delivers a positive account of US economy, suggesting inflation will return to target over medium term despite oil price drop
Energy producers should lower interest rates following drop in oil prices, suggests Norges Bank paper
Given spillovers to rest of economy, optimal policy calls for a reduction in interest rates, finds study; central banks face ‘trade-off' between stabilising inflation and closing output gap
Turkey’s central bank expects to break letter-writing cycle
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey forecasts inflation falling back to target from mid-2015, sparing it a fourth letter to the government in the space of five years
ECB launches quantitative easing
Mario Draghi unveils additional asset purchase programme that will see the ECB buy sovereign and agency debt; a ‘large majority’ of governing council backed decision
BoE’s Miles: Monetary policy 'does not hold all the cards'
Monetary policy cannot be expected to achieve price stability 'in isolation from things fiscal’, argues David Miles, MPC member at the Bank of England
New core inflation measure proposed in IMF paper
Measure proposed by researchers from IMF and Central Bank of Brazil takes into account both volatility and persistence, ensuring all relevant information is exploited
Canada cuts rate for ‘insurance’ against oil price drop
Stephen Poloz says the fall in oil prices in ‘unambiguously negative’ for the Canadian economy as central bank unveils first rate change in over four years
Great expectations: ECB set for QE showdown
Markets expect the ECB to announce a programme for buying €500 billion of sovereign bonds tomorrow, but the central bank retains the capacity to surprise
PBoC governor questions western central banks' ability to boost inflation
Speaking in Davos, Zhou Xiaochuan says 'monetary policy is not a panacea to reach targets', while Kenneth Rogoff says ECB QE will not be 'big enough'
IMF: Central banks ‘must' ease if inflation expectations drop
Easing should be conducted through ‘other means' than interest rates if they are at ZLB, Fund argues in WEO update, which downgrades global growth forecast for 2015 to 3.5%
BoJ opinion survey highlights shift in expectations
Survey of public opinion sees Japanese people increasingly pessimistic about the economy as a whole, but there are signs the Bank of Japan’s policy efforts may be paying dividends
UK inflation drops to 0.5%
Consumer price inflation falls to its lowest level since records began, prompting Mark Carney to write his first explanatory letter to the UK chancellor; governor stresses immediate benefits
Prolonged weakness of Mexico’s peso could impact inflation, says central bank deputy
A weakening of the Mexican peso could lead to a pick-up in inflation and ‘should be carefully monitored’, says Manuel Sánchez
Tombini: Central Bank of Brazil to do ‘whatever is necessary’ to hit inflation target
Brazil central bank ‘will do whatever is necessary’ to ensure inflation enters into a ‘long period of decline’ from this year onwards, governor says
Bank of Mexico expects inflation back on target in 2015
Inflation in Mexico ended the year slightly above target, at 4.08%; Agustín Carstens expects it will converge to the goal of 3% ‘from mid-2015’
Belarus central bank hikes key rate by 500bp
National Bank of the Republic of Belarus announces raft of measures to stabilise country's exchange rate; increases policy rate and reinstates currency basket peg
Eurozone inflation goes negative with QE looming
Annual HICP inflation falls to -0.2% in December due largely to plummeting oil prices; expectations rising for ECB to expand asset purchases on January 22
Sri Lanka reduces inflation target range by 200bp
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka will aim to keep inflation between 2% and 4% in 2015, after a fall in prices and in some key commodities. From 2016 on, the bank will aim for 3% to 5%
BoE research identifies strong impact from long-term unemployment on inflation
Working paper finds evidence that models incorporating linear Phillips curves are underestimating the effect of long-term unemployment on wage inflation
Central Bank of Paraguay reduces inflation target to 4.5%
After keeping inflation around 5% for the past three years, the central bank will now aim to shackle it at 4.5% in 2015 and 2016
Signs of reflation in Japan as Abe sweeps back to power
Tankan survey shows degree of optimism among businesses and potential for rising wages in coming months, although evidence is mixed; Shinzo Abe reclaims supermajority in election