
Colombia will not paralyze economy to comply with fiscal rule, says minister
His remarks follow news that Colombia may invoke an "escape clause" to suspend compliance with the fiscal rule governing government finances.
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Reuters
24 minutes ago
- Reuters
Japan's core inflation slows in July, stays above BOJ target
TOKYO, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Japan's core inflation slowed for a second straight month in July but stayed above the central bank's 2% target, keeping alive market expectations for another interest rate hike in the coming months. The nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes fresh food items, rose 3.1% in July from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, faster than a median market forecast for a 3.0% gain. The rise was smaller than the 3.3% increase in June, due largely to the base effect of last year's rise in energy prices, which came from the termination of government subsidies to curb fuel bills. A separate index that strips away both fresh food and fuel costs - closely watched by the BOJ as a measure of domestic demand-driven prices - rose 3.4% in July from a year earlier after increasing by the same rate in June. Rising food and raw material costs have kept Japan's core inflation above the Bank of Japan's 2% target for well over three years, causing some BOJ policymakers to worry about second-round price effects. The BOJ last year exited a decade-long, massive stimulus and raised short-term interest rates to 0.5% in January on the view Japan was close to durably hitting its 2% inflation target. While the bank revised up its inflation forecasts last month, Governor Kazuo Ueda has stressed the need to tread cautiously on further rate hikes, due to an expected hit to the economy from U.S. tariffs. The Japanese economy has been showing resilience even though sweeping U.S. tariffs are dragging down exports. Last week's unexpectedly strong second-quarter gross domestic product data, combined with a U.S.-Japan trade deal struck last month, has fuelled market expectations that a tariff-driven recession will be averted - bolstering the case for another rate hike later this year. Some analysts also point to Washington's pressure for more rate hikes, following rare and explicit comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent who said the BOJ was "behind the curve" on policy. The latest Reuters poll showed 63% of economists surveyed this month expect the central bank to raise base borrowing costs to at least 0.75% from 0.50% by the end of this year, an increase from 54% in last month's poll.


Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Japan MOF preparing to raise long-term rate estimate in FY2026 budget request, Yomiuri reports
TOKYO, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Japan's Ministry of Finance is preparing to raise its assumed interest rate for long-term government bonds at 2.6% for fiscal 2026/27 budget requests, the highest level in 17 years, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Friday. The country's assumed bond interest rate was 2.1% during the fiscal 2025 budget request phase before being adjusted to 2.0% in the final budget. The increase for the next budget would lead to higher debt servicing costs, the report also said without citing sources.


Reuters
an hour ago
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Petrobras board approves Bruno Moretti as chairman
SAO PAULO, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras ( opens new tab said on Thursday that its board of directors had approved Bruno Moretti as the firm's new chairman. Moretti's term as chair will last until the next general shareholder meeting, Petrobras added in a securities filing.