Page 8 - Interest Rates

Russian central bank holds interest rates at 16%, raises inflation forecast

The decision was in line with a Reuters poll of economists, which had forecast that the persistence of inflation, fanned by strong consumer demand and widespread labour shortages

Japan's yen hits fresh 34-year low after BOJ holds interest rates

The yen also nudged down to its weakest almost 16 years at 167.38 per euro and its weakest in nearly a decade on the Australian dollar

Fed Chair Powell's US rates warning means headache for rest of the world

China doesn't have such inflation worries, but rise in the premium of US 10-year government bond yields over their Chinese equivalents to a record high has sparked concerns over depreciation of yuan

Morgan Stanley expects ECB to cut key interest rates by 75 bps in 2024

Last week, the ECB held interest rates at a record high on Thursday but signaled it could start cutting as soon as June

Interest rate cuts in India 'off the table' in FY24-25, says Morgan Stanley

The central bank seeks to ensure inflation aligns durably and sustainably to its 4 per cent target

Soft or no landing? US Fed's economic picture becomes complicated

Fed policymakers have taken an increasingly cautious tone when they talk about when and how much they might lower borrowing costs

Biden predicts Fed will cut rates by end of year despite high inflation

Biden in a statement earlier Wednesday acknowledged the administration had more to do to lower prices

RBI's status quo on repo rate to impact retail auto sales, says Fada

Manish Raj Singhania, prez of FADA, said that favourable govt policies along with government spending, and the expected good monsoons, are likely to fuel demand, particularly in rural areas this year

RBI's MPC decision shows resolve to ensure price stability, say experts

As the central bank held key policy rates steady, the EMIs on home and auto loans are likely to remain stable for some more time

Inflation declines in Europe again; here's what it means for interest rates

The inflation that has squeezed European shoppers fell more than expected in March to 2.4 per cent, as cost spikes in the grocery aisle eased and overall price rises headed down in the two biggest economies, Germany and France. The annual figure for the 20 countries that use the Euro currency came in below the 2.5 per cent predicted by financial markets and brings the European Central Bank ever closer to its inflation goal of 2 per cent. But analysts say the decline from 2.6 per cent in February, though welcome, would likely not be enough to move up the first interest rate cut from the ECB. The bank meets April 11 but the first reduction in borrowing costs is not expected until June despite an economy that's failing to grow, several analysts said. Food inflation fell to 2.7 per cent from 3.9 per cent, and energy prices dropped by 1.8 per cent, according to Eurostat, the European Union's statistics agency. Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, eas

Interest rates on small savings schemes remain unchanged for April-June qtr

The government on Thursday said the interest rates on various small savings schemes will remain unchanged for the quarter beginning April 1, 2024. "The rates of interest on various small savings schemes for the first quarter of FY 2024-25, starting from April 1, 2024, and ending on June 30, 2024, shall remain unchanged from those notified for the fourth quarter (January 1, 2024, to March 31, 2024) of FY 2023-24," said a finance ministry notification. As per the notification, deposits under the Sukanya Samriddhi scheme will attract an interest rate of 8.2 per cent, while the rate on a three-year term deposit remains at 7.1 per cent. The interest rates for popular PPF and post office savings deposits scheme too have been retained at 7.1 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively. The interest rate on the Kisan Vikas Patra will be 7.5 per cent, and the investments will mature in 115 months. The interest rate on the National Savings Certificate (NSC) will remain at 7.7 per cent for the ...

RBI releases MPC schedule for FY25, first interest rates decision on Apr 5

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday announced the schedule for the bi-monthly monetary policy committee meetings for the new fiscal. The first meeting will be held from April 3-5, while the next will start on June 5, as per an official statement. Typically, the six-member panel votes on a resolution on the third day of the meeting and the governor announces the decision in the first half of the day after the vote is completed. The first two days of the meeting are devoted to deliberations and presentations by subject matter experts to the panel. The second bi-monthly policy review meeting will end on June 7, the statement said, adding that this will be followed by three-day meetings in August, October, December, and February. The six-member panel headed by the governor has three external members. It can be noted that Shaktikanta Das' term as the RBI Governor is set to end in December this year. The MPC has been consistent in holding on to the elevated interest rates and

Switzerland unexpectedly cut key interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.5%

Officials in Zurich lowered their benchmark to 1.5%, the first such reduction for one of the world's 10 most-traded currencies since the pandemic abated

Bank of England keeps key interest rate unchanged at 16-yr high of 5.25%

The Bank of England kept its main interest rate unchanged at a 16-year high of 5.25 per cent on Thursday even though inflation continues to drop from multi-decade peaks. The decision was widely anticipated in financial markets and comes a day after the US Federal Reserve also left its key interest rate unchanged. But unlike the Fed, the Bank of England gave few explicit indications that it was getting ready for a series of interest rate reductions in the months to come. The Swiss National Bank went the other way on Thursday, with a surprise cut to its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point. Market expectations that lower UK interest rates were on the horizon got a boost Wednesday with news that inflation fell to a 2.5-year low of 3.4 per cent in February more than anticipated and is now not far off the Bank of England's target rate of 2 per cent. The bank's rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee acknowledged that inflation has been trending lower and could fall bel

RBI Guv, Sebi head meet FM ahead of interest rate meet next month

Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday called on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, ahead of the central bank's interest rate-setting panel meeting next month. The minister separately held a meeting with Sebi Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch at her North Block office, according to a post by Sitharaman's Office on X. These meetings come at a time when the industry is pitching for an interest rate cut, and stock markets are witnessing intense volatility. The RBI has held the benchmark interest rate or repo rate at an elevated level of 6.5 per cent since February 2023. Das-headed Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is scheduled to meet from April 3-5, the first for the 2024-25 fiscal, in which it is expected to spell out inflation and growth trajectory for the financial year beginning April 1. The RBI, in its policy review last month, projected a GDP growth rate of 7 per cent and average inflation of 4.5 per cent for 2024-25. The Indian economy is estimated to have grown over

China's central bank leaves benchmark lending rates unchanged, as expected

China has set an economic growth target of "around 5%" for 2024, a rate that economists say is ambitious and calls for more stimulus, including monetary and fiscal easing

How Bank of Japan's Kazuo Ueda dismantled world's last negative rate

Both had studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Summers noted, and both shared a soft-spoken academic air but were "capable of being decisive."

Markets to remain volatile amid US Fed rate decision speculations: Analysts

Stock markets would take cues from the biggest event of the week -- the US Fed interest rate decision, besides tracking the trends in global markets and trading activity of foreign investors, analysts said. Last week, a heavy decline in smallcap, midcap firms, foreign fund outflows and elevated crude oil prices in the international market dented investors' sentiments. Experts said equity markets may remain volatile in the near-term amid a host of global central bank's monetary policy decisions lined up during the week. "This week will place a significant focus on monetary policy, as the Fed will begin its two-day policy meeting on March 19. The US Federal Reserve will announce its interest rate decision after its two-day policy meeting on March 20, 2024," said Pravesh Gour, Senior Technical Analyst, Swastika Investmart Ltd. Additionally, China will announce the loan prime rate for 1-year and 5-year loans, and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will announce its interest rate decision on March

ECB will have to gamble with interest rate cut before long, says Wunsch

Euro zone inflation fell in February to 2.6%, but underlying price growth remained stubbornly high, with prices for food, alcohol and tobacco up 4.0% year-on-year and for services 3.9% higher.

Fed is 'not far' from confidence needed to cut rates, says Jerome Powell

Powell's remarks add some additional color about officials' thinking around the timing of the first rate cut, bolstering the idea that such a move could come in the next few months