1 . BoE surprises with rate hike to 0.25%

Dec 16 , 2021

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, Britain has become the first G7 economy to raise interest rates. On Thursday, Bank of England policymakers increased the benchmark Bank Rate from 0.1 percent to 0.25 percent, defying experts' predictions that it would remain unchanged. Inflation is expected to surpass 6% in April, three times the Bank of England's goal level.

Source: Reuters

2 .Fed signals three rate hikes in the cards in 2022 as inflation fight begins

Dec 15 , 2021

The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday it would end its pandemic-era bond purchases in March and pave the way for three quarter-percentage-point interest rate hikes by the end of 2022 as the economy nears full employment and the U.S. central bank copes with a surge of inflation. Policymakers forecast that inflation would run at 2.6% next year, an increase over the 2.2% they projected in September, but then fall to 2.3% in 2023 and 2.1% in 2024. Unemployment is seen dropping to 3.5% next year, well below the point Fed officials feel is sustainable in the long run, and remaining there through 2024.

Source: Reuters

3 .ECB cuts stimulus but maintains support

Dec 16 , 2021

The European Central Bank cut stimulus further on Thursday but promised copious support for 2022, confirming its relaxed view on inflation and indicating that any exit from years of exceptionally easy policy will be slow. The bank said it would continue to cut bond buys under its 1.85 trillion euro Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme next quarter and will wind down the scheme as expected next March. It will buy 40 billion euros of bonds under the APP in the second quarter, 30 billion euros in the third quarter, then from October onwards, purchases will be maintained at 20 billion euros, for as long as necessary to reinforce the accommodative impact of its policy rates.

Source: Reuters

4 .BOJ scales back emergency funding as pandemic strains ease

Dec 17 , 2021

The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy ultra-loose on Friday but dialed back emergency pandemic-funding. In a widely expected move, the BOJ on Friday maintained its short-term rate target at -0.1% and that for 10-year bond yields around 0%. But it decided to scale back a portion of pandemic-relief funding when it expires in March 2022, such as by slowing purchases of corporate bonds and commercial paper to pre-pandemic levels.

Source: Economic times

5 .Power prices prompt Nyrstar to shut Zinc plant

Dec 17 , 2021

Due to increasing electricity prices, leading miner Nyrstar has announced that its Zinc factory in France will close in the first week of January 2022. Zinc prices are likely to be supported by fears of supply shortages. Shanghai zinc prices soared 4.5 percent to their highest level in more than a month on Friday after miner Nyrstar announced it will close its factory in France due to high power expenses, fueling concerns about supply shortages. level.

Source: Reuters

6 .Lead demand may get a boost in 2022

Dec 15 , 2021

Lead demand may get a boost in 2022 as battery makers opt for cheaper alternatives to lithium Chinese research house Antaike said that Lead demand may get a boost in 2022 as battery makers opt for cheaper alternatives to lithium. Prices for battery-grade lithium carbonate in China have more than quadrupled this year to a record high of 232,500 yuan ($36,514) per tonne on resurgent EV demand. However, the global refined lead market surplus is expected to see a surplus of 95,000 tonnes in 2022, widening from a 19,000-tonne overhang this year, due to a strong rise in secondary lead output.

Source: Reuters

7 .OPEC upbeat on 2022 oil demand, says Omicron impact to be mild

Dec 13 , 2021

OPEC on Monday raised its world oil demand forecast for the first quarter of 2022 and stuck to its timeline for a return to pre-pandemic levels of oil use, saying the Omicron coronavirus variant would have a mild and brief impact. In a monthly report, OPEC said it expects world oil demand to average 99.13 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter of 2022, up 1.11 million bpd from its forecast last month. The report also showed higher output from OPEC as the group and allies, known as OPEC+, gradually unwind record output cuts put in place last year.

Source: Reuters

8 .Japan's economy seen rebounding in Q4

Dec 15 , 2021

Japan's economy will likely grow sharply in the current quarter and the first three months of next year, as consumer and corporate activity are expected to rebound from a heavy pandemic-induced toll, a Reuters poll of economists showed. Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) growth is set to pick up an annualized 6.1% this quarter, far stronger than the 5.1% gain projected in last month's poll, according to the median forecast of nearly 40 economists. That rebound follows the third quarter's 3.6% slump and would be welcomed by policymakers hoping to see the economy steadily shake off the drag from the health crisis after the lifting of pandemic curbs following a summer spike in COVID-19 cases.

Source: Reuters