Central banking
India’s inflation slows to lower-than-expected 5.22% in December, boosting case for rate cuts
People buy vegetables at a vegetable market in Siliguri, India, on December 28, 2024. Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images India’s inflation declined for a second straight month year on year, coming in just below expectations at 5.22% in December, boosting the case for prospective interest rate cuts. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a […]
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Why China’s central bank has stopped bond purchases
BEIJING — The Chinese central bank halted its government bond purchases Friday in an attempt to slow a one-way bonds trade that’s put unwanted downward pressure on the yuan, analysts said. China’s 10-year bond yield plunged to a record low this month, while the Chinese currency traded in Hong Kong on Wednesday hit its weakest […]
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China central bank suspends treasury bond buying citing short supply
A woman walks past the headquarters of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, in Beijing, China September 28, 2018. Jason Lee | Reuters China’s central bank said on Friday it has decided to suspend treasury bond purchases temporarily due to short supply of the bonds. The People’s Bank of China said it would resume bond buying depending on supply and demand in the government bond market. Source
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CNBC Daily Open: Fed’s inflation worries didn’t bother markets
Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, at a news conference after a Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 18, 2024. Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything […]
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Asia’s central banks face a formidable challenge: An ascendant U.S. dollar
A man looks in the window of a money changer showing the rate of various currencies against the Japanese yen, along a street in central Tokyo on April 29, 2024. Richard A. Brooks | Afp | Getty Images Central banks in Asia face a catch-22 in 2025. A relentless rise in the U.S. dollar has […]
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Australia November retail sales rise by most in 10 months on Black Friday boost
Pedestrians pass shops in the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney, Australia, on Friday, July 26, 2024. Lisa Maree Williams | Bloomberg | Getty Images Australian retail sales saw the biggest increase in 10 months in November as Black Friday discounting drew cost-conscious shoppers, but even so they missed forecasts suggesting consumer demand remains subdued. Analysts also suspect the extra demand was just brought forward from […]
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Fed officials are worried about the inflation impacts from Trump’s policies, minutes show
Federal Reserve officials at their December meeting expressed concern about inflation and the impact that President-elect Donald Trump’s policies could have, indicating that they would be moving more slowly on interest rate cuts because of the uncertainty, minutes released Wednesday showed. Without calling out Trump by name, the meeting summary featured at least four mentions […]
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Trump tariffs pose a greater threat to South Korea’s economy than domestic political chaos, BOK official suggests
The Bank of Korea (BOK) in Seoul on Dec. 28, 2024. Kim Jae-Hwan | Lightrocket | Getty Images Risks posed by South Korea’s political turmoil to its economy could subside within half a year, but external pressures owed to possible tariffs on the country’s exports to the U.S. are “troublesome,” a key Bank of Korea […]
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Next ECB rate cut could be longer in coming, Holzmann says
Robert Holzmann, governor of Austria’s central bank. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images The next interest rate cut by the European Central Bank could be longer in coming after a recent uptick in inflation, ECB Governing Council member Robert Holzmann was quoted as saying on Saturday. “I don’t see any interest rate hikes at the […]
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How the Federal Reserve’s rate policy affects mortgages
The Federal Reserve lowered its interest rate target three times in 2024. This has many Americans waiting for mortgage rates to fall. But that may not happen for some time. “I think the best case scenario is we’re going to continue to see mortgage rates hover around six and a half to 7%,” said Jordan […]
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