UPDATE-2020 Global Central Bank Monetary Policy Calendar

     Herewith a third draft of the 2020 calendar for meetings by central bank committees that decide monetary policy, which adds the central banks of Colombia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Mexico and the Philippines.
     The following table includes the date for scheduled monetary policy meetings for more than 45 of the world's central banks. In the event policy meetings take place over several days, the date listed below is for the final day of the meetings when decisions are normally announced.
     Central Bank News will update this calendar in coming weeks as more central banks release their meeting schedule for 2020.
     During the year the calendar is regularly updated as some monetary policy committees only announce the date for the upcoming meeting a few weeks in advance.
     Readers are therefore encouraged to check the latest version of the calendar here.
     You may replicate the calendar in part of full only if you link to Central Bank News.

DATE	FX CODE	COUNTRY	CENTRAL BANK
JANUARY
8-Jan	RON	Romania	National Bank of Romania
8-Jan	PLN	Poland	National Bank of Poland
9-Jan	ILS	Israel	Bank of Israel
9-Jan	RSD	Serbia	National Bank of Serbia
9-Jan	PEN	Peru	Central Reserve Bank of Peru
16-Jan	TRY	Turkey	Central Bank of Republic of Turkey
16-Jan	ZAR	South Africa	South African Reserve Bank
16-Jan	EGP	Egypt	Central Bank of Egypt
17-Jan	KRW	South Korea	Bank of Korea
17-Jan	ZWD	Zimbabwe	Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
21-Jan	JPY	Japan	Bank of Japan
22-Jan	CAD	Canada	Bank of Canada
22-Jan	MYR	Malaysia	Central Bank of Malaysia
23-Jan	NOK	Norway	Norges Bank
23-Jan	IDR	Indonesia	Bank Indonesia
23-Jan	EUR	Euro area	European Central Bank
27-Jan	AMD	Armenia	Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia
27-Jan	KGS	Kyrgyzstan	National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic
28-Jan	HUF	Hungary	Central Bank of Hungary
29-Jan	GEL	Georgia	National Bank of Georgia
29-Jan	MDL	Moldova	National Bank of Moldova
29-Jan	USD	United States	Federal Reserve
29-Jan	CLP	Chile	Central Bank of Chile
30-Jan	LKR	Sri Lanka	Central Bank of Sri Lanka
30-Jan	UAH	Ukraine	National Bank of Ukraine
31-Jan	AZN	Azerbaijan	Central Bank of Azerbaijan Republic
31-Jan	BGN	Bulgaria	Bulgarian National Bank
31-Jan	COP	Colombia	Central Bank of Colombia

This week in monetary policy: Dominican Republic and Bulgaria

     This week - December 29 through January 4 - central banks from 2 countries or jurisdictions are scheduled to decide on monetary policy: Dominican Republic and Bulgaria.

    Following table includes the name of the country, the date of the next policy decision, the current policy rate, the result of the last policy decision, the change in the policy rate year to date, and the rate one year ago.

    The table is updated when the latest decisions are announced and can always accessed by clicking on This Week.

WEEK 1
DEC 29 - JAN 4, 2020:
DOMINICAN REP.	30-Dec	4.25%	0	-50	4.75%
BULGARIA	31-Dec	0.00%	0	0	0.00%

    www.CentralBankNews.info

Seychelles keeps loosened stance on modest inflation

     The Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) will maintain a loosened monetary policy stance in the first quarter of 2020 citing a "modest" inflation outlook despite double-digit growth in average monthly earnings that boosts domestic demand and a rise in credit to the private sector.
     But the central bank said on Dec. 27 external inflationary pressures are moderate due to weak growth in global commodity prices as compared with 2018 and there was even a decline in some forecasted prices since the previous policy decision in September.
     In addition, the Seychelles rupee has remained stable against the U.S. dollar and the annual growth in tourism earnings has slowed from last year so CBS concluded inflationary pressures are not expected to reach levels that would threaten its objective of price stability.
      On Sept. 23 CBS loosened its policy stance for the fourth quarter of 2019 by cutting its monetary policy rate by 50 basis points to 5.0 percent to support economic activity given the expectations of "modest inflationary pressures in the short to medium term."
     Inflation in the Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean, rose to 1.7 percent from 1.2 percent in October for a 12-month average of 1.9 percent.
     Tourism is a major contributor to the country's economy and as of Dec. 15 year-to-date visitor arrivals were up 5.6 percent and year-end tourism earnings are seen higher than in 2018.
     But growth in 2019 tourism is still seen below the forecast of 6.0 percent, with 2020 growth projected of 4.2 percent.
     A 5 percent government pay rise in April and a 10 percent rise in minimum wages has helped underpin demand and provisional date for November indicate private sector growth of 19 percent from November 2018, and double-digit private sector credit growth is forecast for 2020.
      Employment earnings have also grown an annual 15 percent in the second quarter of 2019 and if such growth levels were to be sustained, this could lead to additional demand pressures via the exchange rate and credit channels, and thus have inflationary effects, CBS said, adding:
     "Nevertheless, early indicators suggest slowdowns in the income growth and credit to households, thereby limiting the probability of inflationary effects in the short tun."
     In January CBS revised its monetary policy framework and began targeting interest rates, steering them through open market operations, from a quantitative target of reserve money as part of its move to modernize monetary policy.
     As part of this change, CBS launched a Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), setting it at 5.50 percent for the first quarter of 2019. MPR will also lie at the centre of an interest rate corridor.

Trinidad and Tobago holds rate despite room for support

     Trinidad and Tobago's central bank left its benchmark repo rate at 5.0 percent, saying "while there remains room for macroeconomic policy support towards a durable economic recovery, the external balance has not yet been restored."
      The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT), which has maintained its rate since raising it in June 2018, said its monetary policy committee had considered the shifting external conditions, especially trade and geopolitics, adding the interest rate gap between 3-month TT and U.S. Treasury securities had remained negative but narrowed to minus 51 basis points at the end of November.
     Growth in private sector credit slowed to 4.3 percent year-on-year in September from 4.5 percent in July as the contraction in business credit deepened to 5.5 percent while consumer credit had grown 5.9 percent and real estate mortgage loan growth accelerated to 10.9 percent.
     Production of natural gas, which accounts for around one-third of Trinidad and Tobago's gross domestic product, rose an annual 3.7 percent in third quarter despite maintenance shutdowns at two large natural gas platforms, while crude oil output was just under 60,000 barrels per day in the first half of the year, down from a daily average of around 64,000 barrels in 2018, "a reflection of the ongoing maturation of the oil fields," CBTT said.
     Trinidad and Tobago's GDP shrank 1.0 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019, down from a 2.1 percent decline in the previous quarter while headline inflation slowed to 0.3 percent in the 12 months to November.

Sri Lanka holds rate, tax cuts, loan freeze to boost growth

    Sri Lanka's central bank maintained its accommodative monetary policy stance and its key interest rates, saying the government's tax cuts and its moratorium on the repayment of bank loans by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) "are likely to provide further impetus to the economy."
      The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBS), which has cut key interest rates by a total of 100 basis points in 2019 and lowered the reserve requirement for banks by 250 basis points since November 2018, added the president's policy statement on Jan. 3 will also provide further clarity as to the economic and fiscal policy in the medium term.
     It was the first monetary policy decision by CBS since economist and academic Weligamage Don Lakshman assumed the duties of governor on Dec. 24, replacing Indrajit Coomaraswamy who stepped down on Dec. 20 for personal reasons.
     The appointment of Lakshman as governor was one of the main economic appointments by Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was elected president on Nov. 16.
     Rajapaksa, a former defense chief who oversaw the military defeat of Tamil separatists under his brother and then president Mahinda Rajapaksa 10 years ago, has said he will call a parliamentary election to consolidate his power.
     But Rajapaksa has already announced several measures to stimulate the economy, including cutting the value-added-tax on most goods to 8.0 percent from 15 percent as of Dec. 1 and an extension of the one-year moratorium on the repayment of bank loans of up to 300 million rupees by SMEs.
     "The decision by the monetary board is consistent with the aim of maintaining inflation in the 4-6 per cent range while supporting economic growth to reach its potential over the medium term" CBS said, adding the current accommodative policy stance was appropriate and there was "ample space for market lending rates to reduce without further adjustment in policy rates."
     The central bank's Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) stands at 7.0 percent, the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) at 8.0 percent and the Statutory Reserve Ratio (SRR) at 5.0 percent.
     Sri Lanka's economy and its tourism sector is gradually recovering from the Easter Sunday suicide bombings, which killed more than 250 people, with annual growth accelerating to 2.7 percent in the third quarter from 1.5 percent in the second quarter.
     CBS said political stability and short-term measures to stimulate the economy will revive economic activity and it expects momentum to be sustained through the introduction of structural reforms in the medium to long term.
     As part of the cut to VAT on Dec. 1, tourism-related services will pay no VAT.
     Sri Lanka's inflation rate eased to 4.4 percent in November from 5.4 percent in October and CBS said further softening of inflation could be expected to the tax cuts and a reduction in some administered prices but it still projects inflation will remain in the 4-6 percent range in the medium term.
      Sri Lanka's rupee has been buffeted by the Easter Sunday bombings and political instability but has still managed to rise this year to trade at 181.3 to the U.S. dollar today, up 0.9 percent this year.

Egypt pushes monetary policy meeting to Jan. 16

    Egypt's central bank changed the date of its monetary policy meeting scheduled for Dec. 26 to Jan. 16, 2020 saying this would be "after the approval of the formation of the Board of Directors and the Monetary Policy Committee for the new term."
     On Nov. 28 Egypt's parliament approved the re-appointment of Tarek Amer for his second and final 4-year term as governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), only weeks after a reshuffle of the bank's board with one deputy governor reappointed, another one replaced and the appointment of three new board members.
     Amer took over CBE in November 2015 following the resignation of Hesham Ramaz and has been credited with reforming and modernizing the country's banking system. This year he won the African Banker Award as best governor and was also named as one of the top 21 governors in the world in 2019 by Global Finance magazine.
    Egypt's economy was hit hard by the Arab Spring in 2011, which ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, as it scared off foreign investors and tourists, resulting in persistent currency shortage.
    As CBE's reserves continued to dwindle, the Egyptian pound came under attack but CBE was resistant to devalue to avoid sparking inflation, hitting the country's poor.
     But after taking over CBE, Amer soon began to overhaul its policy, devaluing the pound by 12 percent in March 2016 and began a major reform to the foreign exchange market to preserve dollars and attract funds from abroad.
      Shortly after Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) began talks to shore up the government's economic reform program that was aimed at boosting economic growth, lowering budget deficit and debt, improving the foreign exchange market and strengthening the social safety net.
      As part of the 3-year, $12 billion agreement, which included the roll back of government subsidies and the introduction of value-added tax, Amer then floated the pound in November 2016.
      The pound immediately lost about half its value, boosting inflation to 33 percent in July 2017 with the result CBE raised its key interest rates by 400 basis points that year to curb the pass-through of higher import prices to overall inflation.
      After the initial shock, inflation decelerated during the second half of 2017 but remained high the following year, boosted by the rise in prices as subsidies were rolled back. As a result CBE only lowered its rate 200 basis points in 2018.
      By early 2019 the Egyptian pound began to rise and by June headline inflation finally fell below 10 percent for the first time in 3 years, paving the way for CBE to begin a more aggressive easing.
      So far this year CBE has cut its rates four times, most recently in November, by a total of 450 basis points, and analysts had expected another cut today in light of the steady decline in inflation.
     Due to base effects, inflation rose to 3.6 percent in November from 3.1 percent in October and is expected to rise in December but still remain below CBE's inflation target of 9.0 percent, plus/minus 3 percentage points, in the fourth quarter of 2020.
     Egypt's pound was trading around 16 to the U.S. dollar today, up 11.9 percent this year.
     CBE's four main interest rates - the overnight deposit rate, the overnight lending rate, the rate on its main operation and the discount rate - currently stand at 12.25 percent, 13.25 percent, 12.75 percent and 12.75 percent, respectively.

     www.CentralBankNews.info
     
   
   

Kyrgyzstan maintains rate as inflation remains moderate

     Kyrgyzstan's central bank kept its discount rate steady at 4.25 percent, saying inflation remains moderate and is not expected to exceed its target of 5 to 7 percent in 2020.
     The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic (NBKR), which cut its rate twice this year by a total of 50 basis points, said inflation would average around 1.2 percent this year after it rose further to 2.9 percent as of Dec. 20 due to the positive contribution of food prices.
     Since March 2016 the central bank has cut its rate 7 times by a total of 575 basis points.
     Based on the expected trends in global and regional markets, NBKR said it doesn't see any significant inflationary risks in the coming period but in the event of risks in the internal and external environment it may consider adjusting its current monetary policy stance.
     Economic activity in the Kyrgyz Republic continues to expand, with real gross domestic product up by 4.9 percent in the first 11 months of the year, with higher output in all major sectors of the economy.
     Excluding output from the Kumtor gold mine, GDP grew 3.5 percent, NBKR added.
     The central bank also said the positive trends in the monetary and financial sectors were continuing with the volatility of short-term interest rates in money markets declining due to the bank's actions and the dollarization of the economy is also continuing its downward trend.
     The exchange rate of the Kygyzstani som has been steady this year, trading at 69.8 to the U.S. dollar today, the same as at the start of this year.

    www.CentralBankNews.info

   

This week in monetary policy: Kyrgyzstan, Egypt, Sri Lanka and Trinidad & Tobago

    This week - December 22 through December 28 - central banks from 4 countries or jurisdictions are scheduled to decide on monetary policy: Kyrgyz Republic, Egypt, Sri Lanka, and Trinidad and Tobago.

    Following table includes the name of the country, the date of the next policy decision, the current policy rate, the result of the last policy decision, the change in the policy rate year to date, and the rate one year ago.

    The table is updated when the latest decisions are announced and can always accessed by clicking on This Week.

WEEK 52
DEC 22 - DEC 28, 2019:
KYRGYZSTAN	23-Dec	4.25%	0	-50	4.75%
EGYPT	26-Dec	12.25%	-100	-450	16.75%	EM
SRI LANKA	27-Dec	7.00%	0	-100	8.00%	FM
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO	27-Dec	5.00%	0	0	5.00%

    www.CentralBankNews.info

Jamaica holds rate, sees higher but within target inflation

     Jamaica's central bank continued to keep its policy rate steady at 0.50 percent, saying inflation is likely to be higher than previously forecast over the next two quarters but still track within its target range of 4.0 to 6.0 percent over the next two years.

     The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), which has maintained its policy rate since wrapping up an easing cycle in August, added it considered the level of inflation in November a peak and prices should start to fall in December as agricultural production recovers.

    "Bank of Jamaica will therefore continue to closely monitor the impact of the significant monetary loosening undertaken thus far on credit expansion, capital market transactions, overall economic activity and, consequently, the impact on inflation, to determine the appropriate future path for the policy rate," BOJ said, repeating its guidance from November.

     The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) has lowered its policy rate 12 times and by a total of 325 basis points since July 2017 - including 4 times and by 125 points this year - when it adopted a new monetary policy framework that made the overnight deposit rate the new policy rate.

     Jamaica's inflation rate jumped to 4.6 percent in November, the highest rate in 6 months, from 3.3 percent in October, boosted by a 10.6 percent rise in vegetable prices due to drought that was then followed by heavy rains that hit the Caribbean island between June and October.

     Excluding agricultural prices, inflation would have been around 1.9 percent, with transport-related prices also rising by 0.5 percent in the month in connection with a rise in retail petrol prices and higher seasonal airfares.

     In its quarterly inflation forecast from November BOJ expected inflation to accelerate to 4.6 percent in December and 4.7 percent in March before decelerating slightly in June and remaining within the lower half of its target range for the following five quarters.

     Jamaica's economy has slowed this year after expanding in 2017 and 2018, with gross domestic product growing an annual 1.3 percent in the second quarter compared with 1.8 percent in the first quarter.

      Last month BOJ forecast economic growth would be below potential over the next two years and said today it considers the risks to this forecast as balanced while other indicators continue to be positive, including foreign reserves that remain above levels considered adequate and a continued strong fiscal performance. 

     The Jamaican dollar has been volatile since early October and on Friday it was trading at 133.8 to the U.S. dollar, down 4.6 percent this year.

     Last month BOJ Governor Richard Byles attributed the spike in demand for foreign currency to heightened demand from portfolio transactions combined with seasonal re-stocking by retailers ahead of the Christmas period.

     In response to what he described as "unusual heightened demand," BOJ had boosted the U.S. dollar supply selling $140.0 million between Oct. 18 and Nov. 14. 

     On that day BOJ also amended its rules requiring that all funds sold by it to dealers and cambios be re-sold to end-users as it felt large part of earlier intervention funds had not reached them.

Mongolia maintains rate but raises FX reserve ratio

    Mongolia's central bank kept its policy rate at 11.0 percent but raised the mandatory foreign currency reserves ratio by 300 basis points to 15.0 percent to maintain the relative yield of the tughrik and reduce the fluctuations in its exchange rate.
     The Bank of Mongolia (BOM), which has kept the rate steady since raising it by 100 basis points at an unscheduled monetary policy meeting in November 2018 to bolster the tughrik, said it had discussed lowering the interest rate in light of slowing economic growth but decided not to change the rate at this point given uncertainty over the government budget and the external environment.
     The tughrik has been depreciating since April 2018 and fell 8 percent last year amid growing external deficits, a fiscal deficit, and the impact of China's decision to limit coal imports.
     This year the depreciating has slowed as inflation has stabilized and begun to decline while global interest rates have dropped.
     Today the tughrik was trading at 2737 to the U.S. dollar,  down 3.7 percent this year.
     Mongolia's inflation rate fell to 5.2 percent in November, the lowest since August 2017, from 7.6 percent in October, and below BOM's current target of 8.0 percent.
      Mongolia's economy was hit hard in 2016 when foreign investment collapsed after a fall in the prices of its major exports of coal and copper.
     The following year the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Mongolia agreed on a 3-year, $425 million loan as part of a total financing package worth $5.5 billion that was supported by Japan, South Korea, the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank.
     This helped Mongolia's economy recover last year, with the fiscal balance turning into a surplus and international reserves rising.
     "Notwithstanding this progress, Mongolia remains vulnerable to external shocks given its high debt levels and the economy's dependence on mineral exports," IMF said in September, adding the country's economic outlook remains strong despite headwinds.
     Mongolia's economic growth rate declined to 6.3 percent in the first nine months of the year from 7.3 percent in the first half and BOM said growth is expected to slow due to the uncertain environment and slowing growth in investments.
      But budget expenditures and rising salaries from continuing large investment projects should support domestic demand next year and export prices remain at a relatively favorable level, BOM said.
     IMF forecast in September 2019 growth would remain above 6.5 percent and then moderate to around 5-6 percent in the medium term.
     Earlier this month Mongolia's parliament, known as the State Great Khural, approved the 2020 monetary policy guidelines, with BOM tasked with stabilizing consumer price inflation at 20 percent in 2020 and around 6 percent in the medium term.
     At some point in the future stable inflation will become BOM's monetary policy target, the parliament also decided.
   
     www.CentralBankNews.info

China leaves benchmark LPR rate steady at 4.15 percent

    China's central bank left its new policy rate steady at 4.15 percent following three cuts since the one-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR) was designated as the benchmark lending rate in August.
    The People's Bank of China (PBOC) also left the 5-year LPR rate, used to price home mortgages, at 4.80 percent in a release on its website.
     The decision comes two days after the interest rate on 14-day reverse repurchase agreements was lowered by 5 basis points to 2.65 percent while the 7-day rate, which was cut was 5 points in November for the first time in more than four years, was left unchanged at 2.50 percent.

    www.CentralBankNews.info

BOJ maintains ultra-easy policy, confirms guidance

     The Bank of Japan (BOJ) left its ultra-easy monetary policy steady, including the negative interest rate of minus 0.1 percent on banks' excess reserves, and confirmed its guidance that it would continue with quantitative and qualitative monetary easing with yield curve control as long as necessary to reach and maintain its target for inflation to reach 2 percent.
     BOJ also confirmed its guidance from October that it would not hesitate to take additional easing measures if the momentum toward achieving its price stability target were lost due to if there were significant downside risks to economic activity and prices, mainly from overseas economies.
     Looking ahead, BOJ also maintained its view Japan's economy will continue on a "moderate expanding trend, as the impact of the slowdown in overseas economies on domestic demand is expected to be limited, although the economy is likely to continue to be affected by the slowdown for the time being."
     Although Japan's exports are likely to remain weak for some time, BOJ still sees them on a "moderate increasing trend on the back of overseas economies growing moderately on the whole."
      BOJ's statement underscores the general view that further monetary easing by major central banks is on hold for now, with the BOJ also noting domestic demand will be supported by the government's 13.2 trillion yen fiscal package that was approved by the cabinet this month.
     BOJ has used a combination of negative interest rates and "yield curve control" in which its uses asset purchases to keep the yield on government bonds around zero percent, since September 2016.
     Japan's headline inflation rate was steady at 0.2 percent in October and September while the economy has been picking up speed in recent quarters with gross domestic product growing 1.7 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, up from 0.9 percent in the second and 0.8 percent in the first quarter.
      In its latest economic outlook from Oct. 31, BOJ lowered its forecast for growth in fiscal 2019, which began April 1, to 0.6 percent from July's forecast of 0.7 percent, the 2020 forecast to 0.7 percent from 0.9 percent, and the 2021 forecast to 1.0 percent from 1.1 percent.
     BOJ also lowered its outlook for inflation, both for consumer prices excluding fresh food, and for inflation excluding the effects of the consumption tax hike.
     CPI, less fresh food, is seen rising 0.7 percent in fiscal 2019, down from 1.0 percent. In fiscal 2020 inflation is seen at 1.1 percent, down from 1.3 percent, and in fiscal 2021 inflation is seen at 1.5 percent as compared with July's forecast of 1.6 percent.

Thailand holds rate, outlook for exports, growth improves

     Thailand's central bank left its policy rate steady at 1.25 percent, saying the outlook for the global economy had begun to stabilize and this would result in "an improving outlook for Thai exports and economic growth next year" even if growth will be lower than expected.
     The Bank of Thailand (BOT), which has cut its rate twice this year by a total of 50 basis points, said its monetary policy committee unanimously had decided to maintain the rate and "would assess risks to the economic outlook in deliberating appropriate monetary policy going forward."
     BOT's monetary policy committee was split 5-2 in its decisions to cut the rate in August and November.
     Thailand's economy slowed sharply in the first and second quarters of this year as its exports were hit by the global slowdown and BOT has acknowledged growth this year will be lower than its most recent forecast of 2.8 percent.
     Later media reported BOT lowered its 2019 growth forecast to 2.5 percent and the 2020 forecast to 2.8 percent from an earlier 3.3 percent, and the 2019 inflation forecast to 0.7 percent from 0.8 percent and the 2020 forecast to 0.8 percent from 1.0 percent.
      After falling to annual growth of 2.3 percent in the second quarter, growth picked up marginally to 2.4 percent in the third quarter but BOT said exports had contracted more than expected and were projected to recover more slowly than expected due to the slowdown in global trade from trade tensions along with structural changes in the manufacturing sector on export competitiveness.
     BOT said tourism is expected to continue to grow but domestic demand, public spending and private investment would expand less than forecast, partly due to delays in some state-owned investment projects and some public-private infrastructure projects.
     Private consumption is also expected to decelerate due to lower household income and employment, particularly in export-related manufacturing sectors.
     Thailand's exports have become less competitive in recent years as the baht has risen steadily since hitting a low of around 36.5 in  October 2015, with the rise in the baht driven up by the country's current account surplus and foreign fund inflows.
      Although the baht has stabilized in recent weeks, the baht has appreciated by 7.6 percent this year and was trading at 30.24 to the U.S. dollar today.
     "The Committee expressed concerns over baht appreciation against trading partner currencies, and thus saw a need to continue to closely monitor exchange rates and capital flows amid elevated external uncertainties," BOT said, adding it would also monitor the impact of the latest relaxation of foreign exchange control regulations in November aimed at encouraging capital inflows.
     Thailand's inflation rate rose slightly to 0.21 percent in November from 0.11 percent in October but is well below BOT's target of 2.5 percent, plus/minus 1.5 percentage points and BOT expects inflation to remain below its lower bound in 2020.

UPDATE-2020 Global Central Bank Monetary Policy Calendar

      Herewith a second draft of the 2020 calendar for meetings by central bank committees that decide monetary policy, which adds the central banks of Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Serbia, Peru and Morocco.
     The following table includes the date for scheduled monetary policy meetings for more than 45 of the world's central banks. In the event that policy meetings take place over several days, the date listed below is for the final day of the meetings when decisions are normally announced.
     Central Bank News will update this calendar several times in coming weeks as some central banks have yet to release their meeting schedule for 2020.
     During the year the calendar is also regularly updated as some monetary policy committees only announce the date for the upcoming meeting a few weeks in advance.
     Readers are therefore encouraged to check the latest version of the calendar here.
     You may replicate the calendar in part of full only if you link to Central Bank News.

DATE	FX CODE	COUNTRY	CENTRAL BANK
JANUARY
8-Jan	RON	Romania	National Bank of Romania
8-Jan	PLN	Poland	National Bank of Poland
9-Jan	ILS	Israel	Bank of Israel
9-Jan	RSD	Serbia	National Bank of Serbia
9-Jan	PEN	Peru	Central Reserve Bank of Peru
16-Jan	TRY	Turkey	Central Bank of Republic of Turkey
16-Jan	ZAR	South Africa	South African Reserve Bank
17-Jan	KRW	South Korea	Bank of Korea
17-Jan	ZWD	Zimbabwe	Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
21-Jan	JPY	Japan	Bank of Japan
22-Jan	CAD	Canada	Bank of Canada
22-Jan	MYR	Malaysia	Central Bank of Malaysia
23-Jan	NOK	Norway	Norges Bank
23-Jan	EUR	Euro area	European Central Bank
27-Jan	AMD	Armenia	Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia
28-Jan	HUF	Hungary	Central Bank of Hungary
29-Jan	GEL	Georgia	National Bank of Georgia
29-Jan	MDL	Moldova	National Bank of Moldova
29-Jan	USD	United States	Federal Reserve
29-Jan	CLP	Chile	Central Bank of Chile
30-Jan	UAH	Ukraine	National Bank of Ukraine
31-Jan	AZN	Azerbaijan	Central Bank of Azerbaijan Republic
31-Jan	BGN	Bulgaria	Bulgarian National Bank