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...
Bank of Japan policymaker Junko Nakagawa said on Thursday the central bank must maintain ultra-loose monetary policy for the time being due to uncertainty over prospects for achieving the bank's 2% inflation target in a sustainable fashion. An increasing number of Japanese companies were raising prices and wages, Nakagawa said, adding that there was a chance inflation could accelerate more than initially expected. But there was also a risk inflation could slow once the pass-through of higher costs moderate, she said. While the job market is tightening, the outlook for wage growth depends...
Australia's central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged and maintained a tightening bias as Governor Philip Lowe wrapped up his final meeting at the helm with inflation in retreat. The Reserve Bank held its cash rate at 4.1% for a third straight meeting on Tuesday in a decision widely anticipated by markets and economists. The consecutive pauses imply a higher hurdle for any further hikes and suggest a surprise shift in economic data will be needed to prompt additional tightening. "Some further tightening of monetary policy may be required to ensure that inflation returns...
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...
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...