The Bank of Zambia’s Monetary Policy Committee cut the Monetary Policy Rate by 250 basis points to 10.75% in September 2026, citing lower inflation and support for financing and growth. Inflation fell to 6.1%, within the 6% to 8% target band, while future decisions will reflect inflation and financial stability risks.
The Bank of Mozambique held the MIMO policy rate at 9.25% and approved an 18-month reserve requirement regime allowing banks to deduct eligible local-currency financing for import substitution or export growth, priced at MIMO plus up to 150 basis points. Annual inflation slowed to 6.5% in August, while the economic recovery remained weak and climate and geopolitical risks elevated.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka held the Overnight Policy Rate at 8.75%, judging that the effects of its May tightening and other measures had largely materialised. Headline inflation reached 8.0% in August and is expected to remain in high single digits through the first quarter of 2027 before easing toward the 5% target, with the central bank remaining data-dependent amid geopolitical and climate-related risks.
The Reserve Bank of Australia unanimously raised the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.60% on 29 September, citing persistently high inflation and materialising upside risks despite signs of slowing growth. It signalled further tightening if needed, guided by incoming data and evolving risks.
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Disclaimer: Summaries are created using generative AI and may contain inaccuracies. Please refer to the original source for authoritative information.
The Central Bank of Iceland published a speech by Governor Ásgeir Jónsson marking 25 years of inflation targeting, arguing that Iceland’s persistent inflation stems from wage-setting dynamics and widespread indexation, with inflation above 5% and monetary policy likely needing to remain tight. The speech links recent inflation episodes to short-term wage agreements, renewed indexation and external cost pressures, notes that the Monetary Policy Committee has raised the policy rate and may need to do so again, and cautions that pegging the króna to the euro or adopting the euro would not resolve Iceland’s inflation problem.
Bank Indonesia reported official reserve assets fell to USD148.2 billion at end-March 2026 from USD151.9 billion a month earlier, but remain above the adequacy benchmark at 6.0 months of imports. The change reflected government global bond issuance, tax and services receipts, external debt repayments and rupiah stabilisation amid global financial market uncertainty. The central bank expects resilience to be supported by adequate reserves and continued foreign capital inflows and will coordinate with the government to safeguard stability.
Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair Philip N. Jefferson said U.S. growth is near potential, the labor market roughly in balance but vulnerable to shocks, and inflation still above the 2 percent target. He cited resilient demand, high-tech investment, and geopolitical and energy-price risks, with PCE inflation at 2.8 percent and core PCE at 3.0 percent, and a cooling but stabilizing labor market. Jefferson backed the FOMC’s decision to keep the federal funds rate unchanged after 175 basis points of easing over 18 months, saying policy is near neutral and future moves will be data-dependent.
The Bank of Greece published Governor Yannis Stournaras’ speech presenting the 2025 Annual Report, which frames the Middle East conflict as a negative shock but highlights Greece’s stronger fundamentals, including 2025 growth of 2.1%, a 4.4% of GDP primary surplus, improved bank resilience and a 16-year high investment-to-GDP ratio. For 2026, it projects growth of 1.9%, a primary surplus of about 3.2% of GDP and a marginal general government surplus, while flagging the persistent current account deficit as the main vulnerability and calling for data-dependent ECB policy, targeted fiscal support and structural reforms.
In a Reuters interview, Central Bank of Slovenia Governor Primož Dolenc discussed inflation developments and near-term scenarios, stating that the European Central Bank Governing Council will calibrate future measures according to the duration and intensity of the current shock. He reiterated the Governing Council’s commitment to maintaining inflation at 2 percent over the medium term.
The Central Bank of Ireland published a speech by Governor Gabriel Makhlouf on how conflict-driven disruption at a major energy chokepoint is feeding into the European Central Bank’s meeting-by-meeting monetary policy after the Governing Council kept rates at 2 per cent in March. He outlined ECB staff baseline, adverse and severe energy price scenarios, with 2026 inflation between 2.6 and 4.4 per cent and GDP growth falling to 0.4 per cent in the severe case, stressing these are tools to assess uncertainty, not a pre-committed rate path. Makhlouf said he is monitoring energy and freight costs, European gas storage, producer and wage data, inflation expectations and the latest Eurostat flash estimate showing March headline inflation at 2.5 per cent and core inflation at 2.3 per cent.
The Central Bank of Seychelles published its 2025 Annual Report and International Reserves Management Report, including audited financial statements and analysis of economic, monetary, external-sector and reserves developments. It reported provisional domestic growth of 5.1% in 2025 driven by tourism, fisheries and ICT, negative year-on-year inflation at end-December, and Gross International Reserves of USD 878.1 million and Net International Reserves of USD 727.9 million, both higher year on year, with net reserves above the IMF programme target. The Annual Report also includes the 2025 Access to Information Annual Report and a summary of the 2025 Board Evaluation Report.
The National Bank of Serbia published an overview of global financial market developments for 23–27 March 2026, noting euro depreciation against the US dollar, higher long-term US and German government bond yields, and weaker US and euro area preliminary March composite PMI readings. The report highlights European Central Bank communication indicating no urgent need for rate increases and lower median inflation expectations, alongside modestly higher Brent crude prices and a decline in gold. It also notes that after the escalation of the Middle East conflict, Central and Eastern European currencies weakened against the euro, local-currency bond yields rose sharply, and yields on 10-year euro-denominated Eurobonds, including Serbia’s 2036 issue, increased.
Bank Negara Malaysia’s Annual Report 2025, Economic and Monetary Review 2025 and Financial Stability Review for Second Half 2025 confirm a resilient financial system supporting the economy. The central bank reported 2025 GDP growth of 5.2% with 1.4% inflation and projects 2026 GDP growth of 4%–5% and headline inflation of 1.5%–2.5%. It highlighted strong capital, liquidity and asset quality, sectoral reforms including the Consumer Credit Act, and enhanced anti-fraud and financial literacy initiatives. The Annual Report shows total assets of MYR 602.22 billion, net profit after tax of MYR 12.45 billion, MYR 5 billion in dividends to the Government, and ongoing work on the post-2026 financial sector blueprint.
The Central Bank of Nicaragua’s 2025 Management Report highlights maintenance of the córdoba’s 0% annual exchange-rate crawl against the US dollar, strong growth in monetary aggregates, increased “cordobisation” of deposits, credit and payments, and gross international reserves of USD 8,324.8 million at end-2025. It notes further implementation of the International Bank Account Number standard, higher cheque truncation limits, regulatory updates following the 2024 Law on Administration of the Monetary and Financial System, confirmation that the 0% exchange-rate crawl will be maintained in 2026, and a planned public web-based tool for monitoring macroeconomic indicators.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has published its Half-Yearly Monetary and Financial Stability Report (March 2026 issue), setting out its assessment of monetary and financial stability conditions. The report analyses global and local economic developments, Hong Kong’s monetary and financial conditions, and the recent performance and risks of the local banking sector.
The Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Amir Yaron and the Monetary Committee held their quarterly meeting with regular forecasters to exchange views on projections for inflation, the interest rate and the exchange rate. The meeting covered recent economic developments in view of operation “Roaring Lion”, with the Research Department presenting its latest assessment and forecasters sharing their own views.
The Bank of Zambia’s Monetary Policy Committee cut the Monetary Policy Rate by 250 basis points to 10.75% in September 2026, citing lower inflation and support for financing and growth. Inflation fell to 6.1%, within the 6% to 8% target band, while future decisions will reflect inflation and financial stability risks.
The Bank of Mozambique held the MIMO policy rate at 9.25% and approved an 18-month reserve requirement regime allowing banks to deduct eligible local-currency financing for import substitution or export growth, priced at MIMO plus up to 150 basis points. Annual inflation slowed to 6.5% in August, while the economic recovery remained weak and climate and geopolitical risks elevated.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka held the Overnight Policy Rate at 8.75%, judging that the effects of its May tightening and other measures had largely materialised. Headline inflation reached 8.0% in August and is expected to remain in high single digits through the first quarter of 2027 before easing toward the 5% target, with the central bank remaining data-dependent amid geopolitical and climate-related risks.
The Reserve Bank of Australia unanimously raised the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.60% on 29 September, citing persistently high inflation and materialising upside risks despite signs of slowing growth. It signalled further tightening if needed, guided by incoming data and evolving risks.
The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) unanimously raised its policy rate by 50 basis points to 6.0% from September 29, 2026, to limit second-round inflation effects amid elevated commodity and agricultural prices. Headline inflation reached 7.9% in August, above the 4.0%-6.0% target range for a third consecutive month, and is expected to return to target by mid-2027.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Monetary Policy Committee cut the Bank policy rate by 250 basis points to 27.5% with immediate effect, describing the move as a realignment rather than monetary easing. It also lowered the Targeted Finance Facility rate to 12.5% and capped banks’ all-inclusive on-lending rate to productive sectors at 22.5%, while leaving statutory reserve requirements unchanged.
The Bank of Mexico unanimously held the overnight interbank interest rate target at 6.50%, citing continued disinflation, expected economic slack and limited demand pressures, while maintaining an upward bias in inflation risks. Headline inflation is projected to converge to the 3% target in the fourth quarter of 2027.
The Central Bank of Lesotho’s Monetary Policy Committee raised the CBL Rate by 25 basis points to 7.00%, citing increased upside inflation risks and tighter regional and global financial conditions. The rate maintains a 25-basis-point differential to South Africa’s 7.25% policy rate, which the committee considers sufficient to sustain the exchange-rate peg and support domestic activity.
Access Regxplora on the go with our new iOS app.
Disclaimer: Summaries are created using generative AI and may contain inaccuracies. Please refer to the original source for authoritative information.
The Central Bank of Iceland published a speech by Governor Ásgeir Jónsson marking 25 years of inflation targeting, arguing that Iceland’s persistent inflation stems from wage-setting dynamics and widespread indexation, with inflation above 5% and monetary policy likely needing to remain tight. The speech links recent inflation episodes to short-term wage agreements, renewed indexation and external cost pressures, notes that the Monetary Policy Committee has raised the policy rate and may need to do so again, and cautions that pegging the króna to the euro or adopting the euro would not resolve Iceland’s inflation problem.
Bank Indonesia reported official reserve assets fell to USD148.2 billion at end-March 2026 from USD151.9 billion a month earlier, but remain above the adequacy benchmark at 6.0 months of imports. The change reflected government global bond issuance, tax and services receipts, external debt repayments and rupiah stabilisation amid global financial market uncertainty. The central bank expects resilience to be supported by adequate reserves and continued foreign capital inflows and will coordinate with the government to safeguard stability.
Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair Philip N. Jefferson said U.S. growth is near potential, the labor market roughly in balance but vulnerable to shocks, and inflation still above the 2 percent target. He cited resilient demand, high-tech investment, and geopolitical and energy-price risks, with PCE inflation at 2.8 percent and core PCE at 3.0 percent, and a cooling but stabilizing labor market. Jefferson backed the FOMC’s decision to keep the federal funds rate unchanged after 175 basis points of easing over 18 months, saying policy is near neutral and future moves will be data-dependent.
The Bank of Greece published Governor Yannis Stournaras’ speech presenting the 2025 Annual Report, which frames the Middle East conflict as a negative shock but highlights Greece’s stronger fundamentals, including 2025 growth of 2.1%, a 4.4% of GDP primary surplus, improved bank resilience and a 16-year high investment-to-GDP ratio. For 2026, it projects growth of 1.9%, a primary surplus of about 3.2% of GDP and a marginal general government surplus, while flagging the persistent current account deficit as the main vulnerability and calling for data-dependent ECB policy, targeted fiscal support and structural reforms.
In a Reuters interview, Central Bank of Slovenia Governor Primož Dolenc discussed inflation developments and near-term scenarios, stating that the European Central Bank Governing Council will calibrate future measures according to the duration and intensity of the current shock. He reiterated the Governing Council’s commitment to maintaining inflation at 2 percent over the medium term.
The Central Bank of Ireland published a speech by Governor Gabriel Makhlouf on how conflict-driven disruption at a major energy chokepoint is feeding into the European Central Bank’s meeting-by-meeting monetary policy after the Governing Council kept rates at 2 per cent in March. He outlined ECB staff baseline, adverse and severe energy price scenarios, with 2026 inflation between 2.6 and 4.4 per cent and GDP growth falling to 0.4 per cent in the severe case, stressing these are tools to assess uncertainty, not a pre-committed rate path. Makhlouf said he is monitoring energy and freight costs, European gas storage, producer and wage data, inflation expectations and the latest Eurostat flash estimate showing March headline inflation at 2.5 per cent and core inflation at 2.3 per cent.
The Central Bank of Seychelles published its 2025 Annual Report and International Reserves Management Report, including audited financial statements and analysis of economic, monetary, external-sector and reserves developments. It reported provisional domestic growth of 5.1% in 2025 driven by tourism, fisheries and ICT, negative year-on-year inflation at end-December, and Gross International Reserves of USD 878.1 million and Net International Reserves of USD 727.9 million, both higher year on year, with net reserves above the IMF programme target. The Annual Report also includes the 2025 Access to Information Annual Report and a summary of the 2025 Board Evaluation Report.
The National Bank of Serbia published an overview of global financial market developments for 23–27 March 2026, noting euro depreciation against the US dollar, higher long-term US and German government bond yields, and weaker US and euro area preliminary March composite PMI readings. The report highlights European Central Bank communication indicating no urgent need for rate increases and lower median inflation expectations, alongside modestly higher Brent crude prices and a decline in gold. It also notes that after the escalation of the Middle East conflict, Central and Eastern European currencies weakened against the euro, local-currency bond yields rose sharply, and yields on 10-year euro-denominated Eurobonds, including Serbia’s 2036 issue, increased.
Bank Negara Malaysia’s Annual Report 2025, Economic and Monetary Review 2025 and Financial Stability Review for Second Half 2025 confirm a resilient financial system supporting the economy. The central bank reported 2025 GDP growth of 5.2% with 1.4% inflation and projects 2026 GDP growth of 4%–5% and headline inflation of 1.5%–2.5%. It highlighted strong capital, liquidity and asset quality, sectoral reforms including the Consumer Credit Act, and enhanced anti-fraud and financial literacy initiatives. The Annual Report shows total assets of MYR 602.22 billion, net profit after tax of MYR 12.45 billion, MYR 5 billion in dividends to the Government, and ongoing work on the post-2026 financial sector blueprint.
The Central Bank of Nicaragua’s 2025 Management Report highlights maintenance of the córdoba’s 0% annual exchange-rate crawl against the US dollar, strong growth in monetary aggregates, increased “cordobisation” of deposits, credit and payments, and gross international reserves of USD 8,324.8 million at end-2025. It notes further implementation of the International Bank Account Number standard, higher cheque truncation limits, regulatory updates following the 2024 Law on Administration of the Monetary and Financial System, confirmation that the 0% exchange-rate crawl will be maintained in 2026, and a planned public web-based tool for monitoring macroeconomic indicators.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has published its Half-Yearly Monetary and Financial Stability Report (March 2026 issue), setting out its assessment of monetary and financial stability conditions. The report analyses global and local economic developments, Hong Kong’s monetary and financial conditions, and the recent performance and risks of the local banking sector.
The Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Amir Yaron and the Monetary Committee held their quarterly meeting with regular forecasters to exchange views on projections for inflation, the interest rate and the exchange rate. The meeting covered recent economic developments in view of operation “Roaring Lion”, with the Research Department presenting its latest assessment and forecasters sharing their own views.