Asia central banks rebuild defence as Fed hike looms

The central bank is scheduled to release its policy decision at 1800 GMT on Wednesday at the conclusion of its two-day meeting.

HONG KONG: Asia’s central banks are stacking the sandbags.

Foreign-exchange reserves are being rebuilt as monetary authorities brace for the Federal Reserve’s third rate hike in six months. While the expected move has been well telegraphed, prolonged periods of Fed tightening can cause jitters for emerging markets. Asia was slammed in 2013 when then-Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s hint of an end to quantitative easing sparked the “taper tantrum”.