Conflicting signals from the Federal Reserve on the timing and magnitude of U.S. interest rate cuts have accelerated hedging flows into swaptions and derivatives tied to overnight rates, with investors seeking protection against heightened policy uncertainty. Short-term volatility --specifically three-months and under -- on longer-dated swaptions such as those on 10-year and 30-year swaps has picked up following a prolonged period of compression. Swaptions, which are options on interest rate swaps, are one segment of the more than $600 trillion over-the-counter rate derivatives market....
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) announced on Friday that the board members decided to leave the short-term interest rate target unchanged in the range of 0.4%- 0.5% after concluding its two-day monetary policy review meeting. The decision matched the market expectations. The Japanese central bank maintained the pause in its rate-hiking cycle for the fourth consecutive meeting, following a 25 basis points (bps) hike in January. Source: FXstreet
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday stateside cut interest rates by a quarter point, bringing the overnight funds rate range between 4% and 4.25%. That move was fully priced in markets so traders got what they expected. It was a near-unanimous decision by the Fed. Only Stephen Miran, picked by U.S. President Donald Trump and confirmed to the Fed board just on Monday, dissented and voted for a half-point cut. Prior to the meeting, there was chatter that governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller both of whom were also appointed by Trump might advocate for a larger cut. While Fed...
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point on Wednesday and indicated it would continue lowering borrowing costs through the end of the year, as policymakers responded to signs of weakness in the labor market. The move received broad internal support, including from most of President Donald Trump's appointees to the central bank. Only Stephen Miran, who was sworn in as Fed chairman on Tuesday and is on leave as head of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, dissented from the half-percentage-point reduction in borrowing costs. This rate cut, along with...
The Federal Reserve cut the federal funds rate by 25bps during its September 2025 meeting, bringing it to the 4.00%–4.25% range, in line with expectations. It is the first reduction in borrowing costs since December. Newly appointed Governor Stephen Miran stood alone in voting against the quarter-point move, favoring a half-point cut instead. Policymakers noted that recent indicators suggest that growth of economic activity moderated in the first half of the year. Job gains have slowed, and the unemployment rate has edged up but remains low. Inflation has moved up and remains somewhat...
The United States (US) Federal Reserve (Fed) will announce monetary policy decisions and publish the revised Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), the so-called dot plot, following the September policy meeting on Wednesday. Market participants widely anticipate the US central bank to cut the policy rate for the first time since last December, lowering it to the range of 4%-4.25%. The CME FedWatch Tool shows that investors see only about a 6% chance of a bigger rate cut, while pricing in about an 80% probability of a total of 75-basis-point (bps) reduction for the remainder of the year....
President Donald Trump said he would fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors if she does not resign her post over mortgage-fraud accusations from a top...
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintained its cash rate at 4.1% during its April meeting, holding borrowing costs unchanged after slashing 25 bps in the February meeting, aligning with market...