Central bank

BELGRADE - The National Bank of Serbia (NBS) Executive Board decided on Thursday to raise the key policy rate by 25 bp to 6.5 pct.

It also raised the deposit and lending facilities rates to 5.25 pct and 7.75 pct, respectively, the central bank said in a statement.

The Greek banking system is healthy and has credibility but needs to be alert as challenges to financial stability remain high, Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras said on Tuesday.

The Central Bank of Türkiye has said that the monetary tightening process will continue until a significant improvement in the inflation outlook is achieved.

The bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on June 22 decided to lift its policy rate - the one-week repo auction rate - from 8.5 percent to 15 percent, the first rate hike since March 2021.

Türkiye is accelerating efforts aimed at obtaining additional foreign resources for the country in order to further strengthen its reserves, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said.

The Central Bank's net international reserves surged by $8.5 billion last week, Şimşek added in a post on Twitter, noting that this was the largest weekly increase ever on record.

Leaders of business associations have welcomed the Central Bank's move to hike its policy rate sharply by 650 basis points, calling it a step taken toward ensuring price and financial stability.

The Central Bank on June 22 increased its one-week repo auction rate from 8.5 percent to 15 percent. This has been the first rake hike since March 2021.

China's Central Bank yesterday cut two benchmark interest rates, following several similar measures in recent days in a bid to counter the post-COVID growth slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

Last week, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) lowered two other key rates and pumped billions into financial markets, as fresh data showed the economy continued to struggle.

All eyes will be on the Central Bank this week when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is set to meet on June 22 to decide about the policy rate.

In Washington they paused; in Frankfurt they hiked; and in Beijing, they cut.

Central bankers in three of the world's key economic regions have unveiled divergent monetary policies this week as they each contend with their own challenges.

Foreign investors and Türkiye watchers are keeping a close eye on the steps the new economic team will take in the period ahead.

There are expectations that portfolio inflows in to the country may increase depending on the messages sent out by those at the helm of the economy management.

Chinese inflation came in flat again in May, official figures showed on June 9, as the country's economy sputters owing to softening demand and falling exports, leading to calls for a rate cut and a bigger government stimulus.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.2 percent on-year, from 0.1 percent in April, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said.