MONDAY, MAY 7 KUALA LUMPUR- Release of Bank Negara's foreign reserves as at 30 April 2018 at 1500 (0700 GMT) KUALA LUMPUR- HSS Engineers Bhd post-Annual General Meeting (AGM) press conference, Pinnacle 1, Level M1, Connexion Conference & Event Centre @ The Vertical, No 8, Jalan Kerinchi, Bangsar South City, Kuala Lumpur at 1215 (0415 GMT)
LONDON: An increasing number of emerging market economies are now raising interest rates to contain inflationary pressures which are being fuelled, in many cases, by tumbling currencies.
As this interactive graphic shows https://tmsnrt.rs/2p0tele, rate hikes outstripped rate cuts for the fourth straight month in August. The list that follows also reveals how the trend has accelerated this month.
RUSSIA - Russia raised its key rate for the first time since late 2014 on Sept. 14, nudging it up to 7.5 percent from 7.25 percent. The central bank said it was because changes in external conditions observed since its previous meeting had "significantly increased pro-inflationary risks".
TURKEY - Turkey jacked up its benchmark rate by 625 basis points on Sept. 13 in a move that boosted the lira and may ease investor concern about President Tayyip Erdogan's influence on monetary policy. The bank raised the benchmark to 24 percent, having now hiked rates by 11.25 percentage points since late April in an attempt to put a floor under the tumbling lira.
UKRAINE - Ukraine's central bank, grappling with high inflation, raised its key policy rate by half a percentage point on Sept. 6. The hike to 18 percent coincided with the arrival of an International Monetary Fund mission, with time fast running out for Kiev to secure more money under a $17.5 billion assistance programme that expires in 2019 but has been frozen since last year.
MALAYSIA - The country became the first Southeast Asian economy in years to raise interest rates on Jan. 25, when Bank Negara Malaysia raised its main overnight policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.25 percent.
ARGENTINA - The central bank raised its benchmark rate to a dizzying 60 percent from 45 percent on Aug. 30 in an effort to stem a slide in the peso - the world's worst-performing currency this year - and to curb inflation running at 31 percent. Onerous borrowing costs, government spending cuts and a drought that crippled Argentina's agricultural sector this year have slammed Latin America's third-largest economy, which is expected to enter recession in the third quarter.
INDONESIA - The central bank has stepped up its battle to defend a beleaguered currency, raising interest rates for the fourth time since mid-May on Aug. 15 as Turkey's financial crisis ripples across emerging markets.
THE PHILIPPINES - Policymakers administered the biggest rate hike in 10 years on Aug. 9, ramping up key interest rates by 50 basis points to 4.0 percent and leaving the door open for further policy tightening to fight high inflation despite economic growth losing steam.
CZECH REPUBLIC - The Czech central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent on Aug. 2 - its third hike this year - and held out the possibility of another increase soon as it seeks to contain inflation in the strong economy and compensate for a weak currency.
INDIA - The Reserve Bank of India raised interest rates for the second straight meeting on Aug. 1, lifting the repo rate to 6.5 percent, but retained its "neutral" stance as it aimed to contain inflation while not choking growth.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - The central bank raised the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.50 percent on July 26.
PAKISTAN - Faced with increasing inflationary pressure in the wake of a currency depreciation, the central bank upped interest rates by 100 basis points to 7.5 percent on July 14, adding to a hike in May.
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO - The central bank raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.00 percent on June 29.
MEXICO - On June 21, policy makers at the central bank decided in a unanimous decision to raise its benchmark interest rate 25 basis points to 7.75 percent in a bid to counteract the effects of a peso slump and keep a downward inflation trend on track.
TUNISIA - The central bank raised its key interest rate to 6.75 percent from 5.75 percent on June 13, the second hike in three months, to tackle inflation that has reached the highest level since 1990.
ROMANIA - The central bank has raised rates three times already this year, hiking rates by 25 basis points to 2.50 percent in its last move on May 7 in its battle to curb a sharp jump in inflation.
GEORGIA - The central lifted its key interest rate to 7.25 percent, from 7 percent, on Dec. 13 after its forecasts suggested inflation would overshoot the bank's 4 percent target.
DOLLAR PEGS
After the U.S. Federal Reserve's June 13 decision to raise its target range for the federal funds interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, the following countries also hiked their rates by 25 bps because their currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar:
HONG KONG raised the base rate charged through its overnight discount window to 2.25 percent on June 14.
SAUDI ARABIA raised its reverse repo rate to 2 percent on June 13.
BAHRAIN raised its key policy interest rate to 2.25 percent on the one-week deposit facility, while the overnight deposit rate was raised to 2 percent.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES raised its repo rate to 2.25 percent. - Reuters
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