Interest rates
Namibia’s central bank cuts rates to record low
Central bank acts to preserve link to South African currency as it reintroduces lockdown measures
Costa Rica cuts rates to lowest level in over 10 years
Covid-19 has accelerated a disinflationary trend, central bank says
Should the BoE go negative?
Much research into negative rates suggests central banks should have little to fear, but there are plenty of caveats
Iran’s race towards monetary policy reform faces high hurdle reality
The Majlis Research Center’s Tohid Atashbar says positive outcomes from the Iranian central bank’s fast-tracking of monetary policy reform – made in response to Covid-19 and US sanctions – may prove difficult to deliver
New York Fed to tighten repo operations
Fed sees “substantial improvements” in dollar funding markets
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
Appetite for renewed Fed dollar swap lines in doubt
With up to $300bn of positions nearing expiry, some say FX swap market can meet banks’ funding needs
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’
Canada scales back liquidity measures
Policy-makers keep rates unchanged; new governor Tiff Macklem plays observer role on first day
DNB paper says eurozone investment-saving curve flatter in recent years
Persistently low interest rates in eurozone appear to have weakened monetary policy – researchers
BoE paper explores global financial cycles since 1880
Cycles in credit and housing have become more pronounced, but only for some economies
RBA’s Lowe says fiscal policy must do more in the future
Governor says nations can no longer depend on monetary policy to keep inflation under control
Colombia cuts rates to record low
On-target inflation allows central bank to provide stimulus as economy faces sharp recession
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
Nigeria slashes rates by 100bp
Central bank thinks stimulus package can still prevent the economy from entering recession
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 complex art of reserve management
The coronavirus lockdown represents another inflection point for central banks seeking to optimise the management of their $12 trillion in FX reserves
Rising to the challenge – Reserve management in an uncertain world
Amid unprecedented measures being taken by central banks and governments to combat the global Covid‑19 pandemic, BlackRock‘s Stephan Meschenmoser, Laszlo Tisler and Crystal Wan compare and contrast BlackRock’s model portfolio against its high-grade…
Israel holds as exchange rate hampers exports and inflation target
Central bank left rates unchanged at 0.1%; government bond purchases support financial stability
Turkish central bank cuts rates again
CBRT makes ninth consecutive cut since July 2019 but analyst warns strategy is “unsustainable”
Sarb carries out fourth consecutive rate cut
Sarb says banks can apply for looser prudential requirements on “case-by-case” basis as it cuts rates to record lows
Indian MPC cuts rates to record low in unscheduled meeting
RBI says Covid-19 is having a more severe economic impact than anticipated