By Central Bank News
The past week in monetary policy saw 9 central banks announce interest rate decisions. The only bank to change rates was the National Bank of Georgia, cutting 25bps to 6.25%. Those that held interest rates unchanged were: Israel 2.50%, Hungary 7.00%, Japan 0.10%, New Zealand 2.50%, US 0.25%, Hong Kong 0.50%, Zambia 9.00%, and Mexico 4.50%. The Bank of Japan also announced it would add a further 5 trillion yen to its now 70 trillion yen asset purchase program (quantitative easing).
Looking at the central bank calendar, the week ahead sees the Reserve Bank of Australia announcing its monetary policy decision on the first of May; where expectations are for an interest rate cut. The ECB however will likely continue to stand pat later in the week despite calls for more easing and even further cuts to the interest rate. There’s also the Asian central banks; Thailand and Malaysia due to meet this week.
| May-01 | AUD | Australia | Reserve Bank of Australia |
| May-02 | THB | Thailand | Bank of Thailand |
| May-03 | MNR | Malaysia | Central Bank of Malaysia |
| May-03 | EUR | Eurozone | European Central Bank |
Source: www.CentralBankNews.info
