Britain's economy is "moving in the right direction" for the Bank of England to start cutting interest rates, Governor Andrew Bailey said as two of his colleagues dropped their vote a rate hike. The BoE's interest rate-setters voted 8-1 to keep borrowing costs at their 16-year high of 5.25% on Thursday as the two officials who had previously called for higher rates changed their stance. Most economists polled by Reuters had expected one member of the Monetary Policy Committee to continue voting for an increase in Bank Rate. But both Jonathan Haskel and Catherine Mann joined the majority...
The Bank of England pushed ahead with another interest rate increase despite turmoil in the banking sector, predicting the UK economy will avoid a recession for now and that inflation remains a risk. The central bank raised its benchmark lending rate as expected by a quarter point to 4.25%, the highest since 2008, and left the door open to further increases if inflation persists. Policy makers voted 7-2 for the hike, with none of the BOE staff joining the dissent. Governor Andrew Bailey and his colleagues are seeking to keep a lid on soaring prices at a time when...
The Swiss National Bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points Thursday, taking it to 1.5%. The rate is the fourth consecutive hike and the change in policy rate is in line with analyst expectations. The latest rate hike comes as domestic inflation remains well above the Swiss National Bank's target of between 0% and 2%. Swiss inflation rose to 3.4% in February year-on-year, exceeding analyst expectations, although consumer prices are just a fraction of the soaring rates of the country's European neighbors. The country's interest rates first moved out of negative territory...
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, but indicated it was on the verge of pausing further increases in borrowing costs amid recent turmoil in financial markets spurred by the collapse of two U.S. banks. The move set the U.S. central bank's benchmark overnight interest rate in the 4.75%-5.00% range. But in a key shift driven by the sudden failures this month of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, the Fed's latest policy statement no longer says that "ongoing increases" in rates will likely be appropriate. The three major U.S....
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday the US government could repeat the drastic actions it took recently to protect bank depositors if smaller lenders are threatened. "Our intervention was necessary to protect the broader US banking system, and similar actions could be warranted if smaller institutions suffer deposit runs that pose the risk of contagion," Yellen said in prepared remarks to an American Bankers Association conference in Washington. US authorities took extraordinary steps this month to bolster confidence in the banking system following the collapses...
The European Central Bank raised its key interest rates by 50 basis points on Thursday, pressing on with its fight to tame inflation despite signs of stress in the financial system resulting from earlier rate hikes. The interest rate on the ECB's main refinancing operations will rise to 3.50%, while the deposit facility rate will rise to 3.0% and the marginal lending rate to 3.75%. "Inflation is projected to remain too high for too long," the ECB said in a statement accompanying its decisions. Source : Investing
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is prepared to tighten policy further if appropriate. "We will make decisions about the extent of any additional policy and how...
In a statement after the September policy meeting on Tuesday, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe said: "Some further tightening of monetary policy may be required to ensure that...