What the Major Central Banks Are Up To Right Now

The major central banks of the world are one sector of the economy that affects the global markets significantly. By simply releasing a speech or making a decision, they already influence market movements. This is why monitoring them is one of the most common ways to anticipate market changes.

This 2017, two months have already passed. Most market participants are swept by the many news that’s being plugged. Some of the news on the spotlight are Trump’s presidency so far, Eurozone elections, and the various geopolitical situations happening across the globe.

While everybody is busy keeping up with everything else. We’ve summarized for you the things that are happening to the major central banks right now so that you wouldn’t have to strain yourself from researching about them. Here are the summary of things that you need to know about them.

Federal Reserve

America’s central bank have recently concluded a meeting where they’ve set a relatively hawkish tone with regards to the interest rates. However, beyond that, the speech that Fed chair Janet Yellen gave only covered the improvements made in the consumer and business sentiments plus the developments in the employment rates.

Bank of England

The Bank of England is not budging even as inflation is steadily becoming prominent in the recent months. According to analysts, the BOE is expected to increase rates soon in order to prevent overheating in their economy. Governor Mark Carney has expressed their sentiment saying that they would rather see higher inflation than higher unemployment rates and weaker growth right now.

European Central Bank

The ECB, headed by Mario Draghi, has been making headlines recently. In a speech he made, he said that the euro zone economy is recovering and getting stronger. It needs more stimulus right now as inflation continues to rise but remain subdued because of the surge in energy prices.

Bank of Japan

The BOJ basically maintained its interest rates at a steady pace for the current month. They’ve also made the following decisions: extended the deadlines for the application of other stimulus programs, adjusted the forecasts for the economy, and increase growth estimates accordingly. Meanwhile, inflation goals remain subdued. Governor Haruhiko Kuroda explained their decisions in his latest speech and announced their intent to pursue monetary easing to attain that 2.0% inflation goal.