PGIM Fixed Income said in a report that the Bank of Japan may raise the base rate by another 25 basis points this year. However, if Japanese consumers increase consumption significantly, the Bank of Japan may accelerate the pace of interest rate hikes. It pointed out that the Bank of Japan is gradually raising the nominal policy rate close to 2%, and the latest hike has lifted the rate to an important psychological level of 0.5%. In the long run, PGIM believes that the Bank of Japan believes tha...
PGIM Fixed Income said in a report that the base rate of the European Central Bank may need to fall below neutral if the accelerated economic growth repeatedly predicted by the ECB fails to materialize. The bank expects the ECB's neutral rate range to be between 1.5% and 2.5%, slightly lower than the deposit rate of 2.75% now and priced by the market at 1.91% by the end of the year. The European economy is more vulnerable to rising trade tensions given the weak macroeconomic situation, the repor...
Katharine Neiss, chief European economist at PGIM Fixed Income, said the Bank of England needed to be more convinced that inflation was on a downward trend before it could cut interest rates more quickly. The Bank of England's 25 basis point cut on Thursday did not surprise anyone, but Governor Bailey was cautious amid geopolitical headwinds, particularly from the US. Neiss said the UK now faced more potential inflationary shocks, "starting with the UK budget, which is more expansionary and infl...
Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at PGIM Fixed Income, said that the current federal funds rate of 5.3% appears relatively high compared to the current consumer price inflation rate of less than 3%. Even if the rate is cut by 100 basis points, the Federal Reserve's policy is still tighter. Policy is calibrated according to significantly higher inflation and significantly lower unemployment, but these conditions have changed.
Mr. Bocelli, PGIM's chief US economist, said the US's focus had shifted from inflation to labour market easing because of a cyclical hiring slowdown over the past few months, allowing the Fed to start cutting interest rates in September. The Fed is expected to announce a September cut at its meeting tonight. Another cut is likely at the December meeting, and the possibility of a November cut cannot be ignored. The Fed is expected to cut interest rates by about 150 basis points by the end of 2025...