Oil
Azerbaijan continues gradual tightening
Central bank adds 25bp at March meeting, for a total of 150bp in hikes since September
Fed triggers lift-off with 25bp hike
FOMC cuts economic growth projections for 2022 but proceeds with tightening
Energy firms call for central bank support to cover margin spikes
Trade body warns energy market participants risk being unable to meet “unprecedented margin requirements”
Digital money and central banks
Central banks must reflect on the monetary policy, regulatory and financial stability implications from crypto assets, stablecoins and CBDCs to stay relevant in the digital age of money
Norwegian oil fund to divest Russian assets
Fund held equity investments in nearly 50 Russian companies, including Sberbank and Gazprom
US announces initial financial sanctions on Russia
Biden administration bars secondary market bond transactions, but expert says impact likely to be limited
Kazakh central bank warns of inflation pressure after protests
Policy-makers opt for 50bp rate hike to curb possible inflation surge
South Sudanese president fires governor for fifth time
President again dismisses governor as country’s economic crisis continues
Dominican Republic ends 2021 with 100bp hike
Central bank returns rate to pre-pandemic level as economy and inflation steadily grow
Agustín Carstens on BIS strategic priorities, innovation and central bank policy
The BIS general manager speaks about policy trade-offs at critical time, tackling NBFIs and the dearth of ‘green’ assets, tech collaboration, and why he favours Biden’s $3.5trn infrastructure bill
PBoC plays down surge in factory-gate prices
PPI and CPI in July both higher than expected, but central bank says pressure is “controllable”
Ecuador central bank doubles BIS credit line
Central bank to treat funds as precautionary to deal with a future downturn
The IMF’s $650bn SDR allocation and a future ‘digital SDR’
Focus is needed on widening SDR use in payments and the creation of a ‘digital SDR’, to support a large allocation of ‘official’ IMF SDRs, writes Warren Coats
New BoE climate risk scenarios spark race for extra data
Banks need information from clients or third parties to populate 1,760 stress test variables
The ‘golden age’ of central banking has passed
Central banks face multi-faceted challenges and weakened autonomy amid highly polarised inflation expectations
It’s time to smash Iran’s endemic inflation
As Iran goes to the polls, high inflation is still plaguing the economy. Steve Hanke looks at solutions
Energy prices boost eurozone inflation in April
Consumer price index increased year on year by 1.6%, as energy prices increased by 10%
UN effort to reunify Libyan central banks hits problems
One faction demands governor’s replacement as civil war weighs on oil and banking sectors
Governor of the year: Alejandro Díaz de León
Díaz de León has upheld the authority, integrity and independence of the Bank of Mexico against significant external and internal pressures
Eastern Libyan governor tries to resign as threats mount
Local media says el-Hibri complains of shrinking revenue and attacks on staff amid civil war
Divided Libyan central bank holds peace meeting
Central bank’s first board meeting in five years agrees single exchange rate for war-torn country
Libyan governor warns of economic collapse
Oil blockade is “bullet in the head” to civil-war torn country’s economy, Sadiq al-Kabir says
Beyond climate: addressing the ‘E’ in ESG
Environmental degradation raises fundamental questions about how central banks think about risk; efforts to expand focus beyond climate risks now under way
Algerian president appoints fifth governor since 2016
Previous governor became finance minister in June as government faces severe economic problems