The past
week in monetary policy saw interest rate decisions by 11 central banks around
the world, with 4 (Australia, Uganda,Kuwait and Pakistan) cutting rates, and the remaining 7
(Poland, Iceland, the ECB, the UK, Malawi, Japan and Russia ) holding rates steady.
Poland’s decision to maintain rates was the
main surprise of the week as it was expected to cut due to a weakening economy.
But it held out the prospect of a cut if the economy continues to slow and
inflation remains under control.
The main message from last
week’s statements was that the global economy is still contracting but could be
close to bottoming out, with the Bank of Japan pointing to an expected gradual
improvement in overseas economies, Poland putting off a rate cut until a
further slowdown is confirmed and Iceland noting that risks from Europe’s debt
crises were abating.
LAST
WEEK'S MONETARY POLICY DECISIONS:
| COUNTRY | NEW RATE | PREVIOUS RATE | RATE 1 YEAR AGO |
| AUSTRALIA | 3.25% | 3.50% | 4.75% |
| UGANDA | 13.00% | 15.00% | 20.00% |
| POLAND | 4.75% | 4.75% | 4.75% |
| ICELAND | 5.75% | 5.75% | 4.50% |
| EURO AREA (ECB) | 0.75% | 0.75% | 1.50% |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% |
| KUWAIT | 2.00% | 2.50% | 2.50% |
| MALAWI | 21.00% | 21.00% | 13.00% |
| JAPAN | 0.10% | 0.10% | 0.10% |
| PAKISTAN | 10.00% | 10.50% | 13.50% |
| RUSSIA | 8.25% | 8.25% | 8.25% |
NEXT WEEK: The central bank calendar next
week calls for six central banks to consider monetary policy: Morocco, Brazil,
Indonesia, South Korea, Peru and Singapore.
In addition, governors of many
central banks will travel to Tokyo for the annual meetings of the International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank on Friday and Saturday. The main chapters of
the IMF’s World Economic Outlook will be released on Tuesday.
Among the governors
already scheduled to attend meetings in Tokyo are ECB President Mario Draghi,
Federal Reserve President Ben Bernanke and People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou
Xiachuan.
| COUNTRY | MEETING | CURRENT RATE | RATE 1 YEAR AGO |
| MOROCCO | 8-Oct | 3.00% | 3.25% |
| BRAZIL | 10-Oct | 7.50% | 11.50% |
| INDONESIA | 11-Oct | 5.75% | 6.50% |
| KOREA | 11-Oct | 3.00% | 3.25% |
| PERU | 11-Oct | 4.25% | 4.25% |
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