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...
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 inflation returns to target in a reasonable timeframe, but that will continue to depend upon the data and the evolving assessment of risks. In making its decisions, the Board will continue to pay close attention to developments in the global economy, trends in household spending, and the outlook for inflation and the labour market. The Board remains resolute in its determination to return inflation to...
Switzerland's inflation rate stopped slowing in August, offering policymakers a final picture of domestic pressures before their quarterly decision on whether or not to raise borrowing costs. Consumer prices rose 1.6% in August from a year earlier, matching the previous month, according to Switzerland's statistics agency. That falls short of the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey, which had predicted a drop. Underlying inflation, which strips out volatile elements like energy, slowed to 1.5 from 1.7%. The outcome remains the lowest of any advanced economy,...
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cautioned that past interest-rate increases had yet to fully slow the economy, an argument for holding rates steady for now, even though stronger and sustained growth could require higher rates to keep inflation declining. "Given how far we have come, at coming meetings we are in a position to proceed carefully," Powell said in a heavily anticipated address at the Kansas City Fed's annual symposium in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park. "We will proceed carefully as we decide whether to tighten further or, instead, to hold the policy rate constant and...
Chinese banks made a smaller-than-expected cut to their benchmark lending rate on Monday and avoided trimming the reference rate for mortgages. The one-year loan prime rate was lowered by 10 basis points to 3.45% from 3.55%. Most of the economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast a 15 basis-point reduction. The five-year rate, a reference for mortgages, was unexpectedly kept steady at 4.2%, according to data from the People's Bank of China. Most economists had predicted a 15 basis-point cut. "This is a surprising result, showing that banks are not well prepared. We...
Most Federal Reserve officials last month continued to see serious inflation risks which could require more interest-rate hikes, according to the minutes of the July policy meeting. The big question facing Fed officials continues to be whether the level of the policy interest rate is now "sufficiently restrictive" to bring inflation down to 2% target. Minutes of the July meeting, released Wednesday, show "most participants continue to see significant upside risks to inflation, which could require further tightening of monetary policy." At the same time, there was a camp that was concerned...
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...