Monetary Policy Week in Review – Aug. 25, 2012: Iceland speeds up, Colombia and Namibia see slower growth

    The past week in monetary policy saw interest rate decisions by four central banks around the world, with two (Colombia and Namibia) cutting rates while Iceland and Angola kept rates unchanged.

    The overall message from those four central banks is that inflation pressures remain subdued and global growth continues to weaken.

    But the impact of the global slowdown varies widely, with Iceland’s economy gaining momentum while Colombia and Namibia expect further slowdown in growth. Angola, which introduced its Basic Rate of Interest (BNA rate) in October 2011, said the inflation rate had eased to 10.02 percent in July from 14.12 percent last year, but gave no further details behind its policy decision.
    LAST WEEK’S MONETARY POLICY DECISIONS:

COUNTRY	NEW RATE	PREVIOUS RATE	RATE 1 YR AGO
ICELAND	5.75%	5.75%	4.50%
ANGOLA	10.25%	10.25%	N/A
NAMIBIA	5.50%	6.00%	6.00%
COLOMBIA	4.75%	5.00%	4.50%

   NEXT WEEK:
   The central bank calendar for next week includes meetings by four central banks (Israel, Hungary, Norway and Brazil) with markets expecting all banks to keep rates unchanged.
   The major focus of financial markets is the Jackson Hole symposium where Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is expected to speak on Friday, followed by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Saturday.

COUNTRY	MEETING	CURRENT RATE	RATE 1 YR AGO
ISRAEL	27-Aug	2.25%	3.25%
HUNGARY	28-Aug	7.00%	6.00%
NORWAY	29-Aug	1.50%	2.25%
BRAZIL	29-Aug	8.50%	12.00%

 www.CentralBankNews.info