Page 12 - Interest Rates

Safeguarding 'safe' US govt bonds

Prices of government bonds can fall massively due to interest rate risk. But a fresh policy can change this

Weekend Bites: RBI kills one bird with one stone, future of 50-over cricket

In which we munch over the week's platter of news and views

RBI policy hawkish, expect rate cut only in Apr-Jun 2024: Analysts

The Reserve Bank's status quo in policy rates and the accompanying commentary was termed as a "hawkish" pause by analysts on Friday. Many professional watchers said the fourth consecutive pause pushes their expectations of a rate cut further, with some saying it can happen only in the April-June quarter of 2024. After announcing the rate panel decision, Governor Shaktikanta Das said the RBI will be "actively disinflationary" and "emphatically reiterated". The panel also stuck to the stance of "withdrawal of accommodation", and Das later hinted that a relook at it is not possible till inflation cools down. "We foresee a rate cut only in the first quarter of next fiscal, assuming normalising inflation and slowing growth," ratings agency Crisil said, adding uneven distribution of rainfall during the monsoon season, rising crude oil prices and tight global food supplies as upside risks to inflation this fiscal. Foreign brokerage Goldman Sachs termed it as a "hawkish hold" from the RBI

Rate-sensitive sectors lead rise in stock market on RBI's repo rate pause

The NSE Nifty 50 index closed 0.55% higher at 19,653.50 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.55% to 65,995.63. Both the benchmarks logged weekly gains, snapping a two-week losing streak

Unabated FPI selling pulls indices to 1-month low; now eyes on Q2 results

Benchmark indices hit one-month lows on intraday basis

Pakistan's inflation rises to 31.4% in Sept amid high energy prices

Interest rates also risen to their highest at 22%, and Pak rupee hit all-time lows in Aug before recovering in Sept to become best performing currency following clampdown on unregulated FX trade

Oil pares gains ahead of US Fed's comments on interest rate moves

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were largely steady, up just 12 cents to $90.91 a barrel, after also jumping more than a $1 in earlier trading, and after losing 92 cents on Friday

Govt hikes interest rate on 5-year recurring deposit scheme to 6.7%

Small savings schemes are government-backed investment options that offer guaranteed returns. The interest rates on small savings schemes are reviewed every quarter

Govt raises interest rate on 5-year recurring deposit to 6.7% for Dec qtr

According to a finance ministry circular, the interest rate on savings deposit has been retained at 4 per cent and on the one-year term deposit at 6.9 per cent

Vedanta raises funds at higher rates amid company rejig, say bankers

The company will offer a coupon of 12%, payable on a quarterly basis to investors of the issue, which is unrated, bankers said, adding that the coupon on an annualised basis works out to be around 13%

ECB looks to leverage AI to better understand inflation after big misses

Joining the masses of firms already using AI, the ECB is now exploring ways to process and analyse millions of data points, including public price data, corporate statistics

Govt considering $7.2 billion housing loan interest subsidy scheme

The scheme will offer an annual interest subsidy of between 3-6.5% on up to 0.9 million rupees of the loan amount

Fed funds futures trade for December rate hike sees record volume

The fed funds futures market allows traders to place wagers on the precise timing of US central bank policy actions, and they did so to an eye-popping degree after this week's meeting

Fed leaves rates unchanged at 5.25-5.50%, sees tighter policy through 2024

As they did in June, Fed policymakers at the median still see the central bank's benchmark overnight interest rate peaking this year in the 5.50%-5.75% range

Benchmark 10-year yields approach August highs as oil prices gain

Oil prices increased on Tuesday for a fourth consecutive session, raising fears that higher commodity prices will keep price pressures elevated

Dollar near six-month high before key central bank interest rate decisions

The euro was up 0.1% against the dollar at $1.0667. the yen was up a similar amount at 147.69 to the dollar, with traders out for a Japanese public holiday

Russia raises interest rate as inflation, exchange rate worries continue

The Central Bank of Russia raised its key lending rate by one percentage point to 13 per cent on Friday, a month after imposing an even larger hike, as concerns about inflation persist and the ruble continues to struggle against the dollar. The increase comes as annualised inflation rose in September to 5.5 per cent and the bank said it expected it would reach 6-7 per cent by the end of the year. Inflationary pressure in the Russian economy remains high. Significant pro-inflationary risks have crystallised, namely the domestic demand growth outpacing the output expansion capacity and the depreciation of the ruble in the summer months," the bank's board said in a statement. "Therefore, it is required to additionally tighten monetary conditions. The bank in August increased the lending rate to 12 per cent a jump of 3.5 percentage points as the ruble fell to 100 against the dollar. Although the ruble's exchange rate improved mildly after the rate hike, it remains around 95 to the ...

ECB hikes key interest rate to record high even as recession threat grows

Thursday's decision raises the ECB's benchmark deposit rate to 4%, up drastically from minus 0.5% just a little more than a year ago and the highest since the euro was established in 1999

Bank of England is 'much nearer' to peak interest rates, Bailey says

The BoE has raised rates at each of its last 14 meetings as it grappled with the highest inflation among the world's big, rich economies

High interest rates may impact borrowers' debt service capacity: FSB to G20

Ahead of the G20 Summit here, Switzerland-based Financial Stability Board (FSB) on Tuesday warned that higher interest rates alongside a slowing growth outlook, could impair the capacity of borrowers to service historically high levels of debt. The FSB has published two letters from its Chair, Klaas Knot, to G20 Leaders ahead of their Summit in New Delhi on September 9-10. The first letter outlines the work FSB has undertaken under the Leadership of India's G20 Presidency to address existing vulnerabilities in the financial system and enhance the resilience of the financial system to structural change. The second letter provides to G20 Leaders an update on the G20 Cross-border Payments Roadmap. FSB, in its communication to G20 leaders, stressed that a resilient and stable financial system is indispensable to sustaining economic growth, particularly in the current environment. FSB notes the challenging backdrop of strong and persistent inflation and slowing growth, and warns that .