The suspense heading into today’s press conference involved whether ECB officials would use code language — “strong vigilance is warranted” — to suggest a likely second rate hike in early June.  The formal statement and press conference Q&A did not sent such a signal, instead repeating language from the April decision that “we will continue [...]

Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas has implemented a second tightening of its monetary policy interest rates, following up on an initial move on March 24.  The reverse repo rate for borrowing was lifted 25 basis points to 4.5%, and the repo lending rate was increased to 6.5% from 6.25%.  During the recession, rates were cut by [...]

May is one of the four months of the year in which the Bank of England updates its inflation forecast.  Often in the past, policy changes were synchronized with the release of those updates, which occur also in November, August, and February.  The Inflation Report is due on May 11, but the Monetary Policy Committee [...]

The yen strengthened beyond 80/USD for the first time since March 18, touching a high of 79.58 and climbing 1.1% on balance. Central banks in Malaysia and the Philippines hiked key interest rates by 25 basis points today. Central banks are also meeting in the U.K., Euroland, the Czech Republic and Hungary.  Markets are positioned [...]

The Bank of England and ECB policy announcements are once again scheduled for the same Thursday, the BOE at 11:00 GMT and the ECB some 45 minutes later.  President Trichet’s press conference starting at 12:30 GMT is a highly anticipated event because opinion is split over whether the next rate hike by the bank is [...]

The Bank of England will announce monetary policy decisions at 11:00 GMT on Thursday following this month’s two-day meeting.  Only in the remote chance of modified policy parameters, which I do not expect to happen, will the broadcast statement include more than the basics, namely the Bank Rate level, the ceiling on the asset purchase [...]

In January of this year, the United States purchasing manager survey indices in both manufacturing and services exceeded their Euroland counterparts by 3.5 points each.  Just three months later, it is Euroland’s service sector that enjoys a 3.5-point advantage over the United States, and the spread in manufacturing has narrowed by 1.1 points to +2.4 [...]