Search Result for : Central Bank

The Dollar Business Bureau  Germany’s overall goods exports grew for the fourth straight month to a new high of 106.3 billion euros ($119.2 billion) in the month of April, resulting in a stable adjusted trade surplus. The exports and imports picked up when compared to March, however, the country’s adjusted trade surplus remained unchanged in the month of April, indicating a recovery in Germany’s export trade since the beginning of the year. “Total exports of goods increased for the fourth straight month to a record 106.3 billion euros ($119.2 billion) in April, said Germany’s Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Friday, mentioning that the data is being adjusted for seasonal fluctuations and calendar impacts. Import of goods increased by 1.2% to 86.6 billion euros, which ...

The Dollar Business Bureau Credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday lowered the credit rating of Qatar by one level to AA- and put the country on a watch on concerns of further downgrading after four Gulf Arab nations severed ties with Doha.   “We believe this will exacerbate Qatar's external vulnerabilities and could put pressure on economic growth and fiscal metrics,” S&P Global said.  Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE on Monday announced that they were severing diplomatic relations and closing air, land and sea links with Doha.   Saudi Arabia and its allies alleged that Qatar is providing support to extremist groups and serving the interests of Riyadh’s regional rival Iran, claims which Doha has strongly declined.   “At this ...

The Dollar Business Bureau  India’s economic growth declined to 6.1% in the last quarter of January-March 2016-17, a four-quarter low, mainly due to adverse impact of demonetisation on economic activity. The GDP growth was 8% the same quarter a year ago.  After taking out indirect taxes, the figures seem to be grimmer. Gross value added (GVA), grew by just 5.6% in the fourth quarter — the lowest in nearly eight quarters, as per the official data released on Wednesday.  GVA is the difference between GDP (gross domestic product) and net indirect taxes.  The impact of note ban was evident in the data, with the growth being mainly supported by government spending and agriculture. In the given quarter, except government spending and agriculture, GVA grew only 3.8%, down from 8.4% in first ...

The Dollar Business Bureau The global demand for gold fell by 18% to 1,034 tonnes during the January-March period of 2017, primarily due to fewer inflows into the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and slow central bank demand, as per the World Gold Council (WGC). The overall global demand for gold stood at 1,262 tonnes in the first quarter of 2016, as per the latest report on Gold Demand Trends by WGC.  “Demand is down but that is largely because Q1 last year was exceptionally high. Although we did not see the record-breaking surges in ETF inflows experienced in Q1 2016, we have seen good inflows nonetheless this quarter, with strong interest from European investors ahead of the Dutch and French elections,” said Alistair Hewitt, ...

The Dollar Business Bureau In line with the industries’ earlier projections, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept the key interest rates unchanged, leaving the repo rate, also referred as repurchase rate, at 6.5% and the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks at 4.0%. The Indian banking body, in its second bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for the financial year 2016-17, said the decision to maintain the status quo on key rates was taken against the backdrop of current and evolving macroeconomic situation. “Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF will remain unchanged at 6.0%, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 7.0%,” RBI said in its announcement. RBI further said a slight increase in inflation, which ...

The Dollar Business Bureau In order to infuse liquidity in to the banking system, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will purchase government bonds amounting to Rs.15,000 crore via open market operations (OMO) next week. The latest announcement comes barely a week after the bank bought government securities worth Rs.15,000 crore through OMO. In a statement released on Friday, the RBI said, “On the basis of recent assessment of prevalent and growing liquidity conditions, the Bank has decided to buy government securities under OMO for an average amount of Rs.150 billion on May 31.” There is a total aggregate limit of Rs.150 billion for all the government securities taken together. Purchase of extra securities would help the bank to release the ...

The Dollar Business Bureau Global gold demand has increased 21 percent to 1,290 tonnes in the first quarter of 2016, up from 1,070 tonnes during the same period last year, a World Gold Council (WGC) report said. “This rise in demand was driven by vast inflows into ETFs (exchange-traded funds), fuelled by the concerns of investors with regard to economic instability and an uncertain financial landscape,” the report said. The global demand for jewellery was earlier down by 19 percent due to higher prices and subdued industrial action in India. A softening of the Chinese economy further meant that many consumers have delayed the purchases. “Two main themes appeared in the first quarter of this year. Driven by the ambiguity raised by negative rates ...

The Dollar Business Bureau     The RBI on Tuesday has announced that it would allow its Sri Lankan equivalent to withdraw as much as $700 million in a span of three months. This arrangement is possible under a new special swap currency agreement that has been signed by both the central banks. The RBI has provided currency swaps for the Central Bank of Sri Lanka previously, where they had planned to extend the $1.5 billion agreement by another year. RBI in a statement said, “This special arrangement is in addition to the existing Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for the SAARC Member Countries.” Sri Lanka is asking for a loan of $1.5 billion from International Monetary fund, with a view to ...