Trade
RBI extends Sri Lanka swap line
Island nation defaulted amid debt, currency and balance of payment crises
PBoC on hold as Fed signals steeper rate rises
Policy-makers face worsening pandemic, rising inflation and tighter global financial conditions
PBoC announces policies to help pandemic-stricken economy
Package of 23 measures echoes actions taken in 2020
Canada and New Zealand step up rate hikes
Both central banks raise rates by 50bp in bid to “head off” rising inflation expectations
Azerbaijan continues gradual tightening
Central bank adds 25bp at March meeting, for a total of 150bp in hikes since September
Egypt hikes rates at unscheduled meeting
Central bank orders 100bp increase on March 21, the first rise since July 2017
Bank of Ghana orders 250bp hike
Central bank moves meeting a week earlier to combat high inflation and a weak currency
IMF says Ukraine invasion likely to cut global growth
Higher commodity and food prices will impact Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Central Asia
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”
BIS paper finds real links matter for asset price co-movement
Real economic integration may be more important than previously thought, authors say
Navigating the digital transformation at Deutsche Bundesbank – an update
Joachim Wuermeling explains how the Covid-19 pandemic and other developments have affected the German central bank’s digital transformation during the past two years
Lesotho raises rates and increases reserves
Central bank increases policy rate 25bp in bid to defend peg and fight inflation
The case for trade surveillance in FX and fixed-income markets
This whitepaper explores the essential need for central banks to monitor activity for signs of market abuse, which has a negative impact on the economy and society
The longest book ever written?
The Single Rulebook on EU financial regulation is a serious contender for the prize of the longest book ever written. But will it deliver a safer and better financial system?
Book notes: The cost of free money, by Paola Subacchi
A book worth reading, as it facilitates further discussion on substantial issues, but doesn’t fully address some of the problems it takes aim at
Myanmar and China to use renminbi for cross-border trade
Reports indicate that authorities will pilot settling small-scale trade transactions in yuan
Trade credit helped amplify initial Covid-19 shock – BdF paper
Net borrowers of trade credit faced sharper liquidity squeeze, researchers find
Pakistan confronts inflation with 100bp hike
Third consecutive increase may be last for a while, MPC says
Alternative data fuels central bank research
Important research areas include monetary transmission, exchange rates, digitisation, SMEs and climate change, against the backdrop of Covid
Book notes: Empire of silver, by Jin Xu
A useful introduction to China’s monetary history, focusing on the last 1,000 years, but not the easiest of reads throughout
Uruguayan central bank orders third consecutive rate hike
Central bank expresses concern over salary rises and regional uncertainty
BoE surprises with rate hold as inflation forecasts reach 5%
Market-implied path for interest rates rises to 1% by end-2022
North Korea issues coupons instead of cash
Experts say closing of Chinese border due to Covid-19 may have halted banknote production
Paraguay’s MPC hikes rates by 125 basis points
Country follows Chile with unexpectedly large tightening as inflation continues to rise