At its meeting that concluded this morning, Friday, March 19, the Bank of Japan decided to maintain its monetary policy and interest rates unchanged. Members voted 8-1 to keep the interest rate at 0.75% for the second consecutive meeting, as expected, following a 25 basis point increase in December to its highest level in three decades. Member Hajime Takata favored...
The US Federal Reserve, in its meeting that concluded moments ago, decided by a majority vote to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.75%, as expected, for the second consecutive meeting in 2026. Member Stephen Miran favored a quarter-point rate cut. The Fed members raised their economic growth forecasts for this year, now projecting growth at 2.4%, up from 2.3% in...
The Bank of Canada kept its target overnight interest rate unchanged at 2.25%, as expected, for the fourth consecutive meeting, announced earlier today, Wednesday, March 18. The bank also maintained the interest rate on banks at 2.50% and the interest rate on deposits at 2.20%. In its report, the bank stated that the war in the Middle East has caused...
The ZEW Business Sentiment Index for Germany fell into negative territory in March for the first time in nearly a year, dropping to -0.5 points, compared to a rise of 58.3 in February. This was below expectations of a rise to 39.0. The March decline occurred despite an improvement in the assessment of the current economic situation in Germany to...
At its meeting this morning, Tuesday, March 17, the RBA Board of Governors decided to raise the interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.10% from 3.85%, as expected, for the second consecutive meeting. In its policy statement, the RBA explained that inflation, after declining significantly since its peak in 2022, is expected to rise sharply in the second half...
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Canada rose by approximately 1.8% year-on-year in February, according to figures released moments ago, compared to 2.3% in January. The monthly index rose by 0.5%. The biggest contributor to the slowdown in inflation in February came from a 14.2% year-on-year decrease in gasoline prices and a 17.1% decrease in natural gas prices. Meanwhile, prices...
New orders for durable goods fell in January, according to a report released moments ago by the US Census Bureau. The decline was $0.1 billion, meaning it showed virtually no change, reaching $321.2 billion. This marks a decrease in three of the last four months, following a revised 0.9% drop in December. Expectations had been for a 1.1% increase. In...
Preliminary estimates from the UK's Office for National Statistics show that the UK's gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.2% in the three months to January, following growth of 0.1% in the three months to December. There was no monthly growth in January, after a 0.1% increase in December, while expectations were for 0.2% growth. The services sector, which accounts...
Data released moments ago by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation, rose 0.3% in February, compared to 0.2% in January, matching expectations. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, also rose to 0.2%, compared to 0.3% in January, in line with expectations. The year-over-year CPI rose to 2.4%,...
Crude oil prices surged more than 13% at the start of the week's trading in the European session on Monday, March 9th, after rising more than 30% at the opening of Asian markets. This surge is on track for the largest single-day gain since futures trading began in 1988, fueled by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, production cuts...