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

By Central Bank News

  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 Colombiaand 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%


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forex-trader
14 years ago