Latest news with #monetary policy
Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Surprise Trump Trade Deal to Weigh on Indonesia Rate Decision
The Indonesian trade deal announced by US President Donald Trump provides some clarity for the nation's economy, although the lack of details will likely keep its central bank cautious at its monetary policy meeting Wednesday. Before Trump unveiled the agreement on Tuesday in Washington, some 18 of 33 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted Bank Indonesia would hold rates unchanged at 5.5% to support the rupiah at its meeting in Jakarta. The rest expected a 25 basis point cut to preemptively help the slowing economy.
Bloomberg
9 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Fed's Collins Advocates Actively Patient Policy Approach
CC-Transcript 00:00Clearly uncertainty remains elevated, pulling together the many types of data and the analyses that my staff and I examine. My expectation is that tariffs will boost inflation over the second half of this year, while the extent of the increase remains uncertain. It seems likely that core PC inflation will be in the vicinity of 3%, perhaps by year's end before resuming its decline. And concerning the labour market side of our mandate. Tariffs should slow demand and hiring, but not necessarily by a large amount. Of course there are risks to this baseline outlook and I do not rule out scenarios with larger or more persistent effects from tariffs and ongoing economic uncertainty, or I don't rule out scenarios in which the effects are more muted. Calibrating appropriate policy in this context is challenging, but continued overall, solid economic conditions enable the Fed to take the time to carefully assess the wide range of incoming data. So in my view, what I call an actively patient approach to monetary policy remains appropriate at this time. For YouLive TV
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China's monetary policy impact not yet unleashed, PBOC says with 5% GDP goal in mind
China's central bank intends to carefully calibrate the intensity and pace of its 'moderately loose' monetary policy implementation, taking steps to help the country's economy grow by Beijing's goal of around 5 per cent this year. Zou Lan, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, said on Monday that the agency would closely monitor and evaluate the transmission and actual effects of previously implemented measures. And any future steps would be based on domestic and international financial and economic conditions, as well as the performance of financial markets. 'Monetary policy operates with a lag, and the full impact of current measures is still unfolding,' Zou said at a press conference. 'The PBOC will continue to implement a moderately accommodative monetary policy. 'This approach aims to more effectively stimulate domestic demand, stabilise public expectations, invigorate market vitality, and support the achievement of this year's economic and social development goals and tasks.' Zou Lan, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, spoke at a press conference on Monday. Photo: Handout In May, the PBOC announced a raft of supportive measures to shore up China's economy and stabilise capital markets against the backdrop of trade negotiations with the United States. The reserve requirement ratio – the amount of cash that commercial banks must hold as reserves – was cut by 0.5 percentage points, and the seven-day reverse repo rate – a benchmark interest rate – was lowered by 0.1 percentage point to 1.4 per cent. The rate of housing accumulation fund loans and relending facilities rate were also slashed by 0.25 percentage points.
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China's monetary policy impact not yet unleashed, PBOC says with 5% GDP goal in mind
China's central bank intends to carefully calibrate the intensity and pace of its 'moderately loose' monetary policy implementation, taking steps to help the country's economy grow by Beijing's goal of around 5 per cent this year. Advertisement Zou Lan, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, said on Monday that the agency would closely monitor and evaluate the transmission and actual effects of previously implemented measures. And any future steps would be based on domestic and international financial and economic conditions, as well as the performance of financial markets. 'Monetary policy operates with a lag, and the full impact of current measures is still unfolding,' Zou said at a press conference. 'The PBOC will continue to implement a moderately accommodative monetary policy. 'This approach aims to more effectively stimulate domestic demand, stabilise public expectations, invigorate market vitality, and support the achievement of this year's economic and social development goals and tasks.' Zou Lan, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, spoke at a press conference on Monday. Photo: Handout In May, the PBOC announced a raft of supportive measures to shore up China's economy and stabilise capital markets against the backdrop of trade negotiations with the United States. The reserve requirement ratio – the amount of cash that commercial banks must hold as reserves – was cut by 0.5 percentage points, and the seven-day reverse repo rate – a benchmark interest rate – was lowered by 0.1 percentage point to 1.4 per cent. The rate of housing accumulation fund loans and relending facilities rate were also slashed by 0.25 percentage points.
Zawya
2 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Japan election could further hamper BOJ's drive to raise rates
TOKYO - Japan's central bank may face political pressure to keep interest rates low for longer than it wants, as opposition parties favouring tax cuts and loose monetary policy are expected to gain influence after a July 20 election. Opinion surveys suggest Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's coalition may lose its majority in the upper house of parliament, forcing it to court an array of smaller parties pushing for easier fiscal and monetary policy. The governing bloc led by Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party is already a minority in the more powerful lower house, so a stalemate in both chambers could give opposition parties outsized influence in policy decisions. Ishiba has supported the Bank of Japan's policy of gradually lifting interest rates from near zero as inflation picks up in the world's fourth-biggest economy, while trying to curb the biggest government debt burden in the industrial world. But if opposition groups gain traction with their pressure on the BOJ to avoid rate hikes and for the government to cut the sales tax, that could boost bond yields and complicate the bank's efforts to normalise monetary policy, some analysts say. The BOJ declined to comment on the potential impact of the election on monetary policy. "There's a 50% chance the ruling coalition could lose its majority in the upper house, which could lead to increased debate about cutting Japan's consumption tax rate," said Daiju Aoki, chief Japan economist at UBS SuMi Trust Wealth Management. "That would push up Japan's long-term interest rates by stoking concern over the country's finances," he said. DEBT SET TO RISE Sohei Kamiya, head of the upstart right-wing party Sanseito, has criticised the BOJ for slowing its bond buying when the economy remains weak. "The Ministry of Finance and BOJ should work hand in hand in taking aggressive steps for a few years to boost domestic demand," Kamiya told a press conference this month. Another small group, the Japan Innovation Party, wants the BOJ to go slow in raising rates to restrain the cost of interest on the government's debt. Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People, a party seen as a strong candidate to join Ishiba's coalition, has urged the BOJ to loosen, not tighten, monetary policy to keep the yen from rising and hurting the export-reliant economy. Even if the coalition keeps its majority, Ishiba may need to ditch his hawkish fiscal tilt and boost spending to cushion the economic blow from threatened U.S. tariffs and rising costs of living. "There's a good chance the government will compile an extra budget to fund another spending package to the tune of 5 to 10 trillion yen ($35 billion-$70 billion). That would push up bond yields further," said former BOJ board member Makoto Sakurai, who expects the central bank to avoid raising rates at least until March. Japan's public debt is equal to 250% of gross domestic product, far above that of Greece at 165%. The government spends nearly a quarter of its budget to finance a 1,164-trillion-yen ($7.9-trillion) debt pile, with the cost expected to rise steadily as the BOJ exits zero-interest rates. 'NEED TO BRACE' To be sure, inflation - above the BOJ's 2% target for three years - boosts nominal tax revenues, which can help the government avoid ramping up bond issuance to fund further spending. But cutting the sales tax rate, an idea Ishiba has ruled out for now, would leave a bigger hole in Japan's finances. Once a fringe idea, cutting the 10% sales tax is now among Japan's most popular economic policy proposals. In a recent poll by the Asahi newspaper 68% of voters thought a sales tax cut was the best way to cushion the blow from rising living costs, compared with 18% who preferred cash payouts. If the sales tax is on the chopping block after the election, it is the kind of vital issue that could prod Ishiba to dissolve the lower house and call a snap election - a move that would prolong political uncertainty. If Ishiba were to step down, an LDP race to replace him could revive market attention to candidates like Sanae Takaichi, an advocate of aggressive monetary easing whom Ishiba narrowly beat in the party's leadership race last year. Unlike Ishiba, who gave a quiet nod to BOJ policy normalisation, Takaichi has said it would be "stupid" for the central bank to raise rates. All this would mean the BOJ's rate hikes, already on pause due to uncertainty over U.S. tariffs, could be put on hold even longer. "We may need to brace for a long period of political uncertainty and market volatility," said Naomi Muguruma, chief bond strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. "That would just give the BOJ another reason to sit on the sidelines and wait for the dust to settle." ($1 = 146.8800 yen) (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by William Mallard)
