Forexsites    Global Trader Information

Today’s Daily Analysis - Forexpros - Thu 4th February 2010 : Read comments »

Today’s Daily Analysis - Forexpros - Wed 3rd February 2010 : Read comments »

Today’s Daily Analysis - Forexpros - Tue 2nd February 2010 : Read comments »

2 February 2010

Statement by Glenn Stevens, Governor: Monetary Policy Decision

At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 3.75 per cent.

The global economy is growing, and world GDP is expected to rise at close to trend pace in 2010 and 2011.  The expansion is still likely to be modest in the major countries, due to the continuing legacy of the financial crisis, resulting in ongoing excess capacity.  In Asia, where financial sectors are not impaired, recovery has been much quicker to date, though the Chinese authorities are now seeking to reduce the degree of stimulus to their economy.  Global financial markets are functioning much better than they were a year ago.  Credit conditions nonetheless remain difficult in the major countries as banks continue to face loan losses associated with the period of economic weakness.  Concerns regarding some sovereigns have increased.

In Australia, economic conditions have been stronger than expected, after a mild downturn a year ago.  The effects of the fiscal stimulus on consumer demand have now faded, but household finances are being supported by strong labour market outcomes and a recovery in net worth.  Public infrastructure spending is now boosting demand, as is an upturn in housing construction.  Investment in the resources sector is strong.  The rate of unemployment appears to have peaked at a much lower level than earlier expected.

Inflation has, as expected, declined in underlying terms from its peak in 2008, helped by the fall in commodity prices at the end of 2008, a noticeable slowing in private‑sector labour costs during 2009, the recent rise in the exchange rate and a period of slower growth in demand.  CPI inflation has risen somewhat recently as temporary factors that had been holding it down are now abating.  Inflation is expected to be consistent with the target in 2010.

Credit for housing has been expanding at a solid pace, and dwelling prices have risen significantly over the past year.  Business credit, in contrast, has continued to fall, as companies have sought to reduce leverage, and lenders have imposed tighter lending standards and in some cases sought to scale back their balance sheets.  The decline in credit has been concentrated among large firms, which generally have had good access to equity capital and, more recently, to debt markets; credit conditions remain difficult for many smaller businesses.

With the risk of serious economic contraction in Australia having passed, the Board had moved at recent meetings to lessen the degree of monetary stimulus that was put in place when the outlook appeared to be much weaker.  Lenders have generally raised rates a little more than the cash rate over recent months and most loan rates have risen by close to a percentage point.  Since information about the early impact of those changes is still limited, the Board judged it appropriate to hold a steady setting of monetary policy for the time being.

Interest rates to most borrowers nonetheless remain lower than average.  If economic conditions evolve broadly as expected, the Board considers it likely that monetary policy will, over time, need to be adjusted further in order to ensure that inflation remains consistent with the target over the medium term.

View source

Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the ECB,
Lucas Papademos, Vice President of the ECB
Frankfurt am Main, 7 May 2009

Ladies and gentlemen, the Vice-President and I are very pleased to welcome you to today’s press conference. We will now report on the outcome of today’s meeting of the Governing Council, which was also attended by Commissioner Almunia.

On the basis of its regular economic and monetary analyses, the Governing Council decided to reduce the interest rate on the main refinancing operations of the Eurosystem by a further 25 basis points and the rate on the marginal lending facility by 50 basis points, to 1.00% and 1.75% respectively. The interest rate on the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 0.25%. This decision brings the total reduction in the interest rate on the main refinancing operations of the Eurosystem since 8 October 2008 to 325 basis points. Read the rest of this entry »

Date 30 April 2009

The Reserve Bank today reduced the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 50 basis points to 2.5 percent.

Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard said: “Overall, developments since March point to lower medium-term inflation than previously projected. The main factors behind this are weaker global growth, and an unwarranted tightening in financial conditions via both higher long-term interest rates and a stronger exchange rate than expected. Read the rest of this entry »

Release Date: April 29, 2009

Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in March indicates that the economy has continued to contract, though the pace of contraction appears to be somewhat slower. Household spending has shown signs of stabilizing but remains constrained by ongoing job losses, lower housing wealth, and tight credit. Weak sales prospects and difficulties in obtaining credit have led businesses to cut back on inventories, fixed investment, and staffing. Although the economic outlook has improved modestly since the March meeting, partly reflecting some easing of financial market conditions, economic activity is likely to remain weak for a time. Nonetheless, the Committee continues to anticipate that policy actions to stabilize financial markets and institutions, fiscal and monetary stimulus, and market forces will contribute to a gradual resumption of sustainable economic growth in a context of price stability. Read the rest of this entry »

(GBP) Bank of England Minutes 8th and 9th April 2009

9 April 2009

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5%. The Committee also voted to continue with the programme, announced on 5 March, of asset purchases totalling £75 billion financed by the issuance of central bank reserves.

The Committee noted that since its previous meeting a total of just over £26 billion of asset purchases had been made and that it would take a further two months to complete that programme.

The minutes of the meeting will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 22 April.

The previous change in Bank Rate was a reduction of 0.5 percentage points to 0.5% on 5 March 2009.

View source

STATEMENT BY GLENN STEVENS, GOVERNOR
MONETARY POLICY

Date: 7 April 2009

At its meeting today, the Board decided to lower the cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.0 per cent, effective 8 April 2009.

Recent information from abroad indicates that the contraction in the global economy continued during the first few months of this year, and most assessments of the near‑term outlook have been further marked down. Considerable economic policy stimulus is in train in most countries, the full effects of which are not yet discernible, but which should help contain the downturn over the rest of the year. There are tentative signs of stabilisation in several countries, including China, though it is too early yet to judge how durable these will prove to be. Read the rest of this entry »