BoJ's monetary base likely to increase further

Oct 30, 2015 09:02 am UTC| Commentary Central Banks

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) refrained from easing monetary policy further today. The decision was taken by an 8-1 majority, even though the bank has slashed its inflation forecast by a large margin in its semi-annual...

Norges Bank’s ‘uncertainty premium’ weighed on NOK

Oct 30, 2015 07:57 am UTC| Commentary Central Banks

Norges Bank (NB) has really surprised the market several times over the past 12 months. For example, the market was strongly positioned for a rate cut at the policy meeting in March 2015 but when NB stayed on hold, the NOK...

No signs of inflation but BoJ does not expand QE

Oct 30, 2015 07:46 am UTC| Commentary Central Banks

There will be major problems because central banks world-wide are interfering in areas which they had better stay away from, as they cannot really influence developments. Nevertheless, the BoJs decision of last night is...

Monetary policy first line of defense for Norges Bank

Oct 30, 2015 07:40 am UTC| Commentary Central Banks

Norges Bank (NB) operates a so-called flexible inflation mandate that allows Governor Øystein Olsen to work towards both bringing inflation close to the long-term target of 2.5% and stabilising growth and...

Fed likely to postpone first rate hike to January

Oct 30, 2015 07:22 am UTC| Commentary Central Banks

U.S. economic data have disappointed over the past month. Industrial and export data indicate a slowdown and retail sales and employment growth have also eased. While long the bright spot in a weak global economy, the...

ECB signals further easing in December

Oct 30, 2015 07:19 am UTC| Commentary Central Banks

The European Central Bank sent a very dovish message from its October meeting. Due to a weakened inflation outlook, the ECB will reassess monetary policy in December and it is ready to use all the tools in its box. The...

CBR key rate likely to fall to 10% in December 2015

Oct 30, 2015 07:10 am UTC| Commentary Central Banks

Together with the stabilising oil price, the RUBs volatility is also reduced and additional room is provided for resuming monetary easing, which has been badly missed by businesses and consumers among the current economic...