Moody’s: Major central banks to slow pace of tightening - Bloomberg

The US-based rating agency, Moody’s Investors Service, highlighted in its latest research note that the world’s major central banks are expected to slow their pace of tightening amid gloomy global growth outlook.

Key Points (via Bloomberg):

“The Federal Reserve probably will hike interest rates two times this year, at most, instead of the previously projected three or four.

The European Central Bank will delay increasing deposit facility and refinancing rates until 2020, they said, revising a forecast for the second half of 2019.

“With the pace of economic expansion slowing across major economies and the balance of risks tilting to the downside, the G-3 central banks -- the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan -- are all signaling a wait-and-see approach.”

The company’s views were altered in part because of the Fed’s recent greater emphasis on the need to be “patient” and “cautious.”

Finally, the Bank of Japan’s inflation outlook has become even more dire, meaning no monetary policy tightening should be expected this year or in 2020.”