This week, Central Banks around the world are expected to determine interest rates.
Bloomberg reported on the 15th (local time) that this year, when most developed countries began monetary policy easing, is finishing with interest rate cuts.
This week, at least 22 Central Banks will decide on monetary policy worldwide. This accounts for 40% of the global economy.
First, the Federal Reserve (Fed) in the United States is expected to lower interest rates by 0.25 percentage points during the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on the 17th and 18th.
Market attention is focused on the pace of interest rate cuts by the Fed next year.
Accordingly, attention is also on the dot plot that shows the interest rate projections of the Fed commissioners during this FOMC meeting.
Jerome Powell, the Fed Chair, mentioned at the DealBook Summit hosted by the New York Times (NYT) in New York on the 4th that the current U.S. economic situation is "remarkably good" and reaffirmed the existing position that it provides "the ability to approach (monetary policy) decisions cautiously."
David Wilcox, Director General of U.S. Economic Research, noted, "President-elect Donald Trump has complicated the FOMC’s work by promising a series of measures that will impact inflation and economic activity."
He added, "Monetary policy operates with a lag, so the Fed will assess the likelihood of various proposals from Trump being implemented and balance the risks when making decisions about interest rates in future meetings."
The Bank of England (BOE), the Central Bank of the United Kingdom, is generally expected to keep interest rates unchanged in its meeting on the 19th.
The BOE has been cautiously lowering interest rates in consideration of both the growth shock from Trump’s trade policies and ongoing inflationary pressures, and it is expected to continue this trend.
After lowering the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points in August this year, BOE further cut it by another 0.25 percentage points last month.
The Bank of Japan (BOJ), the Central Bank of Japan, is also expected to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged during its monetary policy decision meeting on the 18th and 19th, local media reported on the 14th.
The BOJ raised the benchmark interest rate for the first time in 17 years last March and ended its negative interest rate policy, then increased it to about 0.25% from 0-0.1% during the July meeting but has kept it unchanged since.
This week, the decisions on interest rates from Central Banks in the Nordic region are expected to differ.
The Central Bank of Sweden lowered its benchmark interest rate by 0.5 percentage points last month, but many expect it to reduce the rate by 0.25 percentage points this time.
In contrast, the Central Bank of Norway is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged as core inflation has halted its decline for a year.
The Central Bank of Russia is projected to raise its benchmark interest rate to 23%, a 2 percentage point increase, as consumer prices continue to exceed the target (4%).
Earlier, the European Central Bank (ECB) lowered the benchmark interest rate from 3.40% to 3.15% by 0.25 percentage points at this year's final monetary policy meeting on the 12th. This marks the third consecutive reduction since September.
Some market observers predict that the ECB will lower the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points in four meetings scheduled until June next year.
Meanwhile, Wang Xin, Director General of the Research Bureau under the People's Bank of China, said at an event on the 14th that the People's Bank is expected to lower interest rates and reserve requirements in a timely manner next year, according to China’s 21st Century Business Herald.
The Chinese government announced during the Central Economic Work Conference, an annual meeting held on the 11th and 12th to determine the direction of next year's economic policy, that it will expand fiscal deficits and the issuance of ultra-long-term special treasury bonds to ensure economic recovery, and will continue to provide liquidity by lowering interest rates.