Charting the global economy: BOJ holds; US inflation won’t let up
Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged, driving the yen to a fresh 34-year low, while US inflation showed few signs of simmering down.
The Japanese yen slumped as BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda played down the impact on inflation from a weakening currency. While he’s indicated a preference to proceed gradually with rate increases, Ueda is trying to avoid restraining the economy.
That’s becoming even more challenging after US data this week indicated inflation accelerated in the first quarter, reinforcing expectations the Federal Reserve is likely to keep interest rates higher for longer.
Here are some of the charts that appeared on Bloomberg this week on the latest developments in the global economy, geopolitics and markets:
World
Outside the BOJ, Paraguay, Turkey, Russia and Guatemala held rates steady. Hungary further slowed the pace of cuts. Indonesia defied expectations and boosted rates, while Ukraine lowered them. Argentina cut its key interest rate for the fourth time since President Javier Milei took office in December as officials bet on a sustained slowdown in inflation.
Beijing’s vast claims across the South China Sea — based on a vague 1947 map showing what’s become known as a “ten-dash line” through the waterway — were rejected by a United Nations-backed tribunal in 2016. But President Xi Jinping dismissed the ruling, and ever-growing tensions in the disputed waters all point to an uncomfortable truth for Southeast Asian nations, as well as the US: In this standoff, China is winning. China’s
