British inflation is broadly declining in line with the Bank of England's forecasts, and next month's numbers look on track for a sharp drop towards the central bank's 2% target, Governor Andrew Bailey said on Wednesday. "We're actually pretty much on track for where we thought we would be," Bailey said at an event in Washington hosted by the Institute of International Finance. "I expect that next month's number will show quite a strong drop," he added. Official figures earlier on Wednesday showed annual consumer price inflation fell to 3.2% in March from 3.4% in February, a slightly...
Australia's central bank didn't consider the case for raising interest rates at its last meeting, opting simply to stand pat at a 12-year high of 4.35%, minutes of its March 18-19 board discussion showed. The Reserve Bank's March minutes on Tuesday made no mention of whether a rate hike was discussed, unlike previous releases when it set out the options considered by the board. The central bank has reviewed the case for raising rates at every meeting since it embarked on its tightening cycle in May 2022. Members said risks around the economic outlook were "a little more even" when they...
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said inflation data released Friday is "pretty much in line with our expectations," but reiterated it won't be appropriate to lower rates until officials are confident inflation is on track toward their 2% goal. "It's good to see something coming in in line with expectations," Powell said Friday at an event at the San Francisco Fed, but added that the latest readings aren't as good as what policymakers saw last year. "We don't need to be in a hurry to cut," he said. Fed officials held short-term interest rates at a more than two-decade...
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 Swiss National Bank unexpectedly cut its key interest rate Thursday, becoming the first central bank from a rich, advanced economy to make such a move since inflation rates began to ease from a postpandemic surge. Central banks in many developed economies have been signaling over recent months that interest-rate cuts are on their way, and the SNB's decision will likely heighten speculation about the timing of other moves. Federal Reserve officials confirmed they expect to cut interest rates three times this year, after the central bank held its benchmark rate on Wednesday. Meanwhile,...
Federal Reserve officials maintained their outlook for three quarter-point rate cuts this year but forecast fewer cuts than before in 2025 following a recent uptick in inflation. Officials decided unanimously to leave the benchmark federal funds rate in a range of 5.25% to 5.5%, the highest since 2001, for a fifth straight meeting. Policymakers signaled they remain on track to cut rates this year for the first time since March 2020, but they now see just three reductions in 2025, down from four forecast in December, based on the median projection. "If the economy evolves broadly...
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...
Even before U.S. inflation data on Wednesday came in hotter than expected, Federal Reserve officials had begun worrying last month that progress might have stalled and a longer period of tight...