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Central Banks: Latest News and Analysis

Global Macro Playbook
Fed Cuts Rates, But Mortgage Costs Climb Higher

Despite the Federal Reserve's efforts to lower interest rates and potentially make homes more affordable, mortgage costs continue to rise, reports the Wall Street Journal. This unexpected outcome is driven by several factors, including rising long-term Treasury yields and stubborn inflation.

Average 30-year mortgage rates have climbed to

Global Macro Playbook
Singapore's MAS May Hold Off on Easing Despite Low Inflation

Singapore's Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) may hold off on easing monetary policy at its January review, despite slowing inflation, as the central bank seeks to assess the impact of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump's policies, analysts told Reuters.

This comes as data next week,

Global Macro Playbook
Bank of Russia Holds Key Rate Steady Despite Rising Inflation

The Bank of Russia surprised economists by keeping its key interest rate at a record high of 21%, defying expectations of another significant hike to combat persistent inflation, reports Bloomberg.

The central bank's decision, announced Friday, comes despite inflation accelerating to 8.9% in November, more than double

Global Macro Playbook
UK Retail Sales Growth Stumbles in November Despite Budget Concerns

British retail sales grew at a weaker-than-expected 0.2% in November, according to official data released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics, reports Reuters. This follows a 0.7% drop in October, leading up to Chancellor Rachel Reeves' first budget.

Economists had anticipated a 0.5% monthly

Politico Europe
Russia’s central bank stops raising interest rates as political opposition mounts
The Central Bank of Russia decided that discretion was the better part of valor Friday, suspending its campaign of interest rate hikes against a backdrop of increasingly sharp criticism from ...
Reuters
Colombia's central bank board makes surprise 25 bp cut at last 2024 meeting
The board of Colombia's central bank on Friday voted to cut its benchmark interest rate by a surprise 25 basis points to 9.50%, less than expected by the market, citing global financial pressures and ...
Reuters
Colombia's central bank delivers smaller rate cut than expected
Colombia's central bank on Friday cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 9.50%, a smaller move than expected by markets, as it slowed the pace of its easing due to domestic fiscal ...
Global Macro Playbook
China's Central Bank Steps Up Yuan Support After Fed Move

China's central bank has stepped in to support the yuan after the US Federal Reserve's latest interest rate decision sent the dollar soaring, reports Nikkei Asia. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the yuan's reference rate at 7.1911 per dollar

Global Macro Playbook
South Korea's Potential Growth Rate Plummets to Around 2%, Warns Central Bank

South Korea's potential for economic growth is dwindling, according to a report released Thursday by the Bank of Korea (BOK), which attributes the decline to a lack of innovation and inefficient resource allocation. Reuters reports that the central bank estimates the potential growth rate, defined as the maximum

Global Macro Playbook
Norges Bank Holds Steady, But First Rate Cut Nears

Norway's central bank, Norges Bank, has held its key policy rate at 4.5%, signaling its commitment to cooling inflation, but also hinting at an impending shift towards monetary policy easing, reports the Wall Street Journal. The decision aligns with a recent Wall Street Journal poll.

The 4.

Bloomberg
French Banks Resilient Amid Budget Crisis, Central Bank Says
The large French banks have limited exposure to the country’s sovereign debt, the Banque de France said, contributing to their resilience as a budget crisis fuels turmoil.
Financial Times
Renewed inflation fears stalk central bankers as markets shudder
Policymakers say they will only cut rates slowly in 2025 as they struggle with ‘last mile’ of cooling price growth ...
Reuters
Morning Bid: Seeking respite from Fed; PBOC set to hold the line
Dec 20 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. As the dust settles on a remarkable 24 hours of central bank activity, investors in Asia round off the last full trading week of the year ...
Reuters
Japan's core inflation accelerates, keeps BOJ rate-hike chance alive
The data, which came in the wake of the Bank of Japan's decision to maintain interest rates at 0.25% on Thursday, highlights broadening inflationary pressure that could prod the bank to raise ...
Bloomberg
Japan’s Inflation Picks Up as BOJ Seeks More Data for Hike
Japan’s key inflation gauge strengthened for the first time in three months as the central bank continues to parse data before deciding on the timing of its next interest rate hike. Consumer prices ...
Wall Street Journal
China’s Benchmark Loan Prime Rates Stay Unchanged
The benchmark loan prime rates remained unchanged in China, extending a hold for a second month after a reduction in October.
Morningstar
China's Benchmark Loan Prime Rates Stay Unchanged
China's benchmark loan prime rates remained unchanged, extending a hold for a second month after a reduction in October, the People's Bank of China said. The one-year loan prime rate held steady at ...
CNBC
An inflation gauge tracked by the Bank of Japan just jumped to a seven-month high
The “core-core” inflation rate, which strips out prices of both fresh food and energy and is tracked by the BOJ, rose to 2.4% from 2.3%, a seven-month high ...
Reuters
China leaves rates unchanged, weak yuan limits easing
China left its benchmark lending rates unchanged as expected at the monthly fixing on Friday. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Persistent deflationary pressure and tepid credit demand call for more stimulus to aid ...
CNBC
China keeps benchmark lending rates steady as Fed signals fewer cuts ahead
China kept its one-year and five-year LPRs unchanged at 3.1 and 3.6% respectively. The move, which follows a 25-basis-points rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve earlier in the week, was expected, ...
Reuters
Analysis-BOJ bids final farewell to Kuroda's radical policy experiment
In rare criticism of its past policies, the Bank of Japan said former governor Haruhiko Kuroda's stimulus didn't change consumer psychology as much as planned, continuing a symbolic shift away from ...
Reuters
BOJ bids final farewell to Kuroda's radical policy experiment
TOKYO, Dec 20 (Reuters) - In rare criticism of its past policies, the Bank of Japan said former governor Haruhiko Kuroda's stimulus didn't change consumer psychology as much as planned, continuing a ...
Bloomberg
Japan Warns on Yen After BOJ’s Dovish Message Extends Slide
Japan ramped up its warnings against currency speculation Friday after the yen slid to a five-month low following a hint from the central bank chief that he may wait longer than expected before ...
Reuters
Bank of Japan bids final farewell to Kuroda's radical policy experiment
TOKYO, Dec 20 (Reuters) - In rare criticism of its past policies, the Bank of Japan said former governor Haruhiko Kuroda's stimulus didn't change consumer psychology as much as planned, continuing a ...
Bloomberg
BofA, Nomura Push Out Bank of Japan Rate Hike on Dovish Ueda
Economists at two major financial firms pushed out expectations for the Bank of Japan’s next interest rate hike to March 2025 from January after Governor Kazuo Ueda struck a cautious tone in his ...
Reuters
Dollar set to end week on a high, yen bruised by BOJ
The dollar was set to cap the week on a strong note on Friday as it notched a two-year high bolstered by a hawkish U.S. rate outlook, while the yen struggled to stay afloat as it again weakened to a ...
Bloomberg
EM Central Banks Ramp Up Currency Defense as Dollar Surges Ahead
(Bloomberg) -- From Brazil to South Korea, emerging-market central banks are forming a line of defense as a rising dollar pushes their currencies to multi-year lows.Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is ...
Bloomberg
Revolut’s European Unit Faces Highest ECB Capital Requirement
Revolut Ltd.’s European unit faces the highest individual capital requirement set by the European Central Bank for significant lenders in the region, as the fintech pursues rapid growth to challenge ...
Bloomberg
Japan’s Inflation Accelerates on Energy as BOJ Seeks More Data
Japan’s key inflation gauge strengthened on the waning impact of government energy subsidies as the central bank continues to parse data before deciding on the timing of its next interest rate hike.
Financial Times
ECB to cut rates four times in 2025, with dovish risks
Of the four economies we cover in detail, we think the Eurozone is at lowest risk of experiencing a durable pick-up in inflation. With price rises now almost fully under control, the ECB’s rate path ...
Reuters
Russian central bank keeps rates on hold after Putin's call for 'balance'
The Russian central bank kept its key interest rate on hold at 21% today, surprising the market, which had expected a 2 percentage point increase, and saying recent tightening had created conditions ...
SCMP
Amid increasing geopolitical uncertainty and trade tensions, investors are counting on the US central bank to keep printing money
With the return of the highly unpredictable Donald Trump as US president in January next year, how should one manage the coming risks? Risk can be defined as the possibility of the occurrence of an ...
Reuters
High prices impinging on India's growth, central bank minutes show
High prices are the cause for demand slowdown in India, and aligning inflation to the central bank's 4% target is key to ensuring sustained economic growth, members of the rate-setting panel said in ...
Bloomberg
China Shorter Yields Sink to Two-Decade Low as Bond Fever Builds
China’s short-term bond yields slumped further to reach the psychological milestone of 1% for the first time since the global financial crisis, as traders ramped up bets on monetary easing.
Financial Times
Softer PCE inflation in November will not accelerate Fed easing
Yet the soft release is unlikely to have much significance for the Federal Open Market Committee. At this week’s post-decision press conference, Fed chair Jay Powell signalled that rate-setters were ...
Bloomberg
Brazil’s Central Bank Burns $17 Billion in Reserves to Lift Real
Brazilian markets bounced at the end of the week amid extraordinary central bank moves to curb a selloff in the currency that was spreading across the nation’s markets.
Central Banking
Central banks ‘too slow’ on wholesale CBDCs, industry says
Report emphasises need for greater public-private collaboration and unified definition
Reuters
Bank of Korea says 'low-inflation' era not coming in the next year or two
SEOUL: South Korea's central bank will maintain its inflation target of 2 per cent until the next policy review, as the era of "low-inflation" is unlikely to come in a year or two, the bank's governor ...
Reuters
US Federal Reserve interest rate decision live
The Fed is expected to lower borrowing costs on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET in what some are calling a "hawkish cut".
The Hill
Watch live: Powell gives remarks on expected interest rate cut, Fed’s 2025 outlook
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to hold a briefing Wednesday afternoon as the central bank is set to cut interest rates for a third time. The decision comes as inflation picked up ...
Reuters
UAE's central bank cuts base rate by 25 bps, statement says
The central bank of the United Arab Emirates cut its base rate applied to the overnight deposit facility by 25 basis points on Wednesday, from 4.65% to 4.40%, effective Dec. 19.
Reuters
Bahrain's central bank cuts overnight deposit rate by 25 bps, statement says
The Central Bank of Bahrain on Wednesday cut its overnight deposit rate by 25 basis points to 5% from 5.25%, effective from Dec. 19, according to a statement.
Wall Street Journal
December Cut Was a 'Closer Call,' Powell Says
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says that the latest rate cut was a tougher decision given the persistence of inflation. "Today was a closer call, but we decided it was the right call," Powell ...
Reuters
Fed's Powell not ready to say what Trump policies will do to economy
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday it's too soon to say what President-elect Donald Trump's proposed economic policies will do to the economy and how that might bear on the central ...
Reuters
BOJ meets for final rate review this year as Trump risk clouds outlook
Bank of Japan policymakers will debate whether conditions are falling in place to raise interest rates at their final meeting this year, a decision complicated by slowing global growth and uncertainty ...
Politico Europe
Berlin mulls extravagant measures to stall takeover attempt on top bank
Defense concerns, foreign owners, even Russian subsidies — any excuse to stop UniCredit’s unrelenting advance is a good one, as far as Berlin is concerned.
Wall Street Journal
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates: What It Means for Your Money in 2025
Deborah Kearns has more than 15 years of experience in personal finance and is an expert on specializing in real estate, mortgages, estate planning and debt consolidation. Senior editor, Buy Side from ...
Wall Street Journal
Transcript: Fed Chief Jerome Powell’s Postmeeting Press Conference
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell discussed the central bank’s decision Wednesday to cut the benchmark federal-funds rate to a range between 4.25% and 4.5%, a two-year low, after the Fed cut rates ...
Reuters
ASIA Fed's 'hawkish cut' slams markets, BOJ up next
Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, ...