The worst-case scenario of the staff of the Federal Reserve for the economy is no recovery until next year, according to minutes of the central bank's March 15 policy meeting released Wednesday. The staff told officials that there were two plausible scenarios for the U.S. economy grappling with the coronavirus. In one scenario, the U.S. economy would start to recover in the second half of the year. The more adverse scenario was that the economy entered a recession with no significant rebound until next year. Facing this uncertainty, Fed officials responded by slashing interest rates to...
In a widely expected decision, the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee held the policy rate unchanged at 0.75% with a unanimous vote. The asset purchase facility remained steady at €435 billion as well. On a dovish note, 2 members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to cut the policy rate. With the initial market reaction, the GBP/USD pair came under strong bearish pressure and was last down 0.2% on the day at 1.2825. Source : FX Street
Australia kept interest rates unchanged Tuesday, betting that a rebound in property prices will increase household wealth and confidence and see consumers more willing to part with their cash. Reserve Bank chief Philip Lowe and his board left the cash rate at 0.75% in Sydney as they monitor the ongoing impact of three reductions since June. The decision was predicted by money markets and economists and comes as policy makers struggle to accelerate economic growth and rekindle inflation. œGiven global developments and the evidence of the spare capacity in the Australian...
On Thursday, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) monetary policy board concluded its 2-day July policy review meeting and decided to leave its monetary policy settings unadjusted, holding rates at -10bps while maintaining 10yr JGB yield target at 0.00%. The BOJ vote was 8 to 1, leaving its pledge to buy JGBs unchanged so that its holdings increase at an annual pace of around 80 trln yen. The decision on maintaining its interest rate targets was made by a 7-2 vote with board members Goushi Kataoka and Yutaka Harada dissenting. The central bank modified its forward guidance on interest rates, citing...
Federal Reserve officials reduced interest rates by a quarter-percentage point for the third time this year and hinted they may now put monetary policy on hold, for one meeting at least. The Federal Open Market Committee altered language in its statement following the two-day meeting Wednesday, dropping its pledge to œact as appropriate to sustain the expansion, while adding a promise to monitor data as it œassesses the appropriate path of the target range for the federal funds rate. As with the September statement, the FOMC cited the implications of global developments in...
Australian central bank chief Philip Lowe reiterated that hes prepared to ease policy further if needed, but again pushed back against the idea of interest rates turning negative in his economy. The Reserve Banks board has reduced borrowing costs three times in the past five months as it tries to boost economic growth and encourage hiring. At 0.75%, the record-low cash rate is also helping keep a lid on the local currencyas other major central banks ease in response to heightened international risks, ranging from the U.S.-China trade war to...
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Monday that the possibility of Britain leaving the European Union next month without a transition deal ranked as the riskiest Brexit scenario for the...
At its March monetary policy meeting on Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cut its official cash rate (OCR) by 25bps to a record low of 0.50%, as they weighed in the coronavirus outbreak...