What to expect from central bank meetings this week?

The current week promises to be quite volatile, as several central banks are expected to meet at once and make important decisions on rates, primarily the US Federal Reserve System.

The US Federal Reserve will maintain a «hawkish» tone

It is assumed that the Federal Reserve will leave the interest rate unchanged at 5.5%, announcing this on Wednesday. At the same time, market participants expect that the regulator will continue to take a decisive position, not excluding the possibility of another rate increase this year. 

The fact is that there is still concern about inflation: consumer prices in August increased by 0.6% compared to the previous month, showing the largest increase since June 2022. This was mainly triggered by rising fuel prices. 

The Bank of England is preparing to end the rate increase cycle 

On Thursday, the Bank of England will hold a meeting, which is expected to raise the rate again due to high inflation, despite the local growth of the country's economy. The rate has been raised in the country for the 15th time in a row. 

The overall economic picture of the UK looks disappointing: on Monday, the country's leading manufacturing association revised its growth forecasts for the current and next years due to a reduction in production capacity and instability in the economy. This reinforces the assumption that after the expected rate hike, the Bank of England may announce the end of the monetary policy tightening cycle. 

The meeting of the Bank of Japan is the main event of Friday

The meeting of the Bank of Japan scheduled for Friday is of particular interest, especially against the background of statements by the head of the bank Kazuo Ueda, which caused speculation about possible changes in monetary policy and a departure from ultralight rhetoric. 

Speeches by representatives of the European Central Bank

Although the ECB is not expected to meet, you should listen to some public statements by members of the regulator: Luis de Guindos, Frank Elderson and Fabio Panetta. Their words will be analyzed to identify possible disagreements within the bank after the recent increase in the key interest rate by 25 basis points.