All reserve banks news

The Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said in an interview on Thursday that he expects the U.S. economy to grow despite the "poor" first quarter.

Fischer noted that the Fed will try to hike its interest rate "at the best possible time". He added that the central bank is likely to raise its interest rate this year but the timing would depend on economic data.

The Fed vice chairman also said that the Eurozone's economy improved as the European Central Bank launched its asset-buying programme.

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said on Wednesday that the Fed should raise its interest rate soon. He added that the interest rate is needed to boost the U.S. economy.

"Now may be a good time to begin normalizing monetary policy so that it is set appropriately for an improving economy over the next couple of years," Bullard said.

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis president pointed out that the combination of a coming boom in the U.S. economy and low interest rates could lead to asset market bubbles.

He expects that the unemployment rate in the U.S. will decline below 5%.

Bullard is not a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee this year.

The Bank of Canada (BoC) announced its interest rate decision on Wednesday. The BoC kept its interest rate unchanged at 0.75%. This decision was expected by analysts.

Canada's central bank said that the consumer price inflation is 1.0% due to falling energy prices, while the core consumer price inflation is close to 2%.

The BoC noted that the economy has stalled in the first quarter of 2015. The economy is expected to expand at about 2.5% on a quarterly basis in the second quarter until the middle of 2016.

The central bank expects real GDP to grow at 1.9% in 2015, 2.5% in 2016, and 2.0% in 2017.

The central bank also said that risks to the outlook for inflation are now balanced and risks to financial stability are evolving as expected.

The BoC decided that the current monetary policy remains appropriate.

The European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi said at a press conference on Wednesday that there are signs that quantitative easing by the central bank has been effective. He added that the economy in the Eurozone "has gained further momentum since the end of 2014".

Draghi pointed out the need to complete the full asset-buying programme. "The full implementation of all our monetary policy measures will provide the necessary support to the euro area recovery and bring inflation rates towards levels below, but close to, 2% in the medium term," the ECB president said.

Draghi dismissed concerns that the central bank will not find enough bonds to purchase.

The ECB president noted that there is no evidence for asset bubbles.

The European Central Bank (ECB) on Tuesday raised the amount the Greek central bank can lend its banks to €74 billion from €73.2 billion the previous week, according to a Greek bank official. The ECB declined to comment.

Earlier on Tuesday, a report said that Greece was preparing for a debt default if the government did not reach a deal with its creditors by the end of the month. Greece denied the report.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) released its March monetary policy meeting minutes. The central bank said that the economy will continue to recover moderately. The consumer inflation is expected to be about zero percent "for the time being".

Many board members believes that the BoJ's monetary policy have a positive effect on the economy.

The European Central Bank (ECB) purchased 9.159 billion euros of government bonds last week.

The ECB said on Monday that purchases of sovereign bonds totalled 61.681 billion euros as of April 10, up from 52.522 billion the previous week.

The ECB settled 2.48 billion euros of covered bond purchases and 371 million euros in total purchases of asset-backed securities (ABS) last week.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Narayana Kocherlakota noted on Friday that the Fed should wait until the second half of 2015 before starting to hike its interest rate.

"Under my current outlook, I continue to believe that it would be a mistake to raise the target range for the fed funds rate in 2015," Mr. Kocherlakota said.

The Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said on Friday that the Fed could start to raise its interest rate in June if "incoming economic reports diverge substantially from projections".

He added that it would be ok if the Fed will cut interest rate after rate hike if needed.

The Richmond Fed president expects that U.S. inflation will pick up toward the Fed's 2% target.

Lacker is a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee this year.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) released its monthly economic report on Wednesday. The BoJ said that the economy recovered moderately. Exports are expected to rise due to the recovery in overseas economies.

"Private consumption is expected to remain resilient," the central bank said.

The BoJ expects the consumer price inflation to be about 0% year-on-year.

The Bank of England (BoE) released its interest rate decision on Thursday. The BoE kept its interest rates unchanged at 0.5% and its asset purchase program unchanged at £375 billion. This decision was widely expected.

Low inflation weighed on the BoE's interest rate decision. The U.K. consumer price index declined to zero in February from 0.3% in January. It was the lowest level since 1989.

Analysts expect that the BoE will start to raise its interest rate in early 2016.

Investors are awaiting the minutes of the monetary policy committee (MPC). The minutes of the meeting will be released on April 22.

All members voted in March to keep the central bank's monetary policy unchanged, according to MPC's meeting minutes.

Federal Reserve released its March monetary policy meeting minutes on Wednesday. Fed officials were divided over when to start to hike interest rate. Some official said that it is better to raise interest rate in June, some officials would like to wait longer and some officials would prefer to wait until 2016.

The Fed dropped "patient" from its outlook for monetary policy at its March monetary policy meeting. Investors expected that the central bank may start to hike its interest rate in June. But the released economic data showed that the U.S. economy slowed in early 2015.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said at the press conference on Wednesday that Japan's economy faces less risk now than it did last year. He noted that the stimulus boost in October has a positive impact on wages and prices.

The BoJ governor reiterated that the central will adjust its monetary policy if needed to achieve its 2% inflation target.