Economic news

Most Asian central banks have room to cut rates, IMF official says

2024.10.24 13:37

By Leika Kihara

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Most Asian central banks have room to cut interest rates, as the start of the U.S. monetary easing cycle reduces fears of an unwelcome weakening of their currencies, a senior International Monetary Fund official said on Thursday.

But Krishna Srinivasan, the director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department, said risks to Asia’s economic outlook were tilted to the downside on tentative signs that global demand could weaken.

“No one wins from trade fragmentation. We all pay for slow global growth,” particularly in Asia where many countries are integrated in global supply chains, he told a press briefing during the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Washington.

The IMF expects Asia’s economies to expand 4.6% in 2024 and 4.4% in 2025, remaining “the world’s engine of growth,” Srinivasan said.

Asia has also brought inflation down to low and stable rates faster than other regions, he said. “In emerging Asia, the disinflation process is actually complete.”

While some Asian central banks may have been reluctant to ease monetary policy before the Federal Reserve for fear of weakening their currencies, such concerns should have disappeared now that the U.S. central bank has started cutting rates, he said.

But the environment could become tougher for Asia due to slowing U.S. economic growth and weakening demand in China.

“Risks to the outlook are now relatively to the downside,” Srinivasan said. “Moreover, countries across the globe continue to implement trade restrictions at a rapid pace,” which could weigh on trade-reliant Asian economies, he added.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Krishna Srinivasan, director of the Asia and Pacific Department at the International Monetary Fund, reacts during a news conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka May 15, 2023. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte/File Photo

While Asian countries have the scope to ease monetary policy, their increasing public debt leaves many of them with less of an ability to loosen fiscal policy, he said.

“For most Asian countries, it’s time to start budgetary consolidation in earnest,” Srinivasan said.



Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 76,792.57 1.05%
vested-xor
Vested XOR (VXOR) $ 3,405.08 99,999.99%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 2,892.34 7.31%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00 0.23%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 197.53 4.90%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 600.58 1.92%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.18%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 0.557235 3.16%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.193767 1.45%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 2,892.26 7.37%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.397095 10.52%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.160882 1.77%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 4.94 4.27%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 3,417.93 7.20%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 27.68 4.05%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 76,570.52 1.14%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000019 0.83%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 2,890.39 7.19%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 12.64 5.31%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 384.13 2.68%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 2.34 2.12%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 4.16 1.35%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 6.26 0.06%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 1.00 0.27%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 9.07 2.90%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 72.18 2.95%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 3,038.67 7.24%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 4.24 1.27%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 9.78 4.21%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000011 11.48%
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 513.24 1.48%
fetch-ai
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) $ 1.42 0.10%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 7.78 0.27%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 1.00 0.09%
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 168.10 2.68%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.101898 5.40%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 20.15 4.46%
kaspa
Kaspa (KAS) $ 0.117378 1.47%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 1.00 0.12%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 19.52 0.97%
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 185.79 9.08%
polygon-ecosystem-token
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.346319 4.72%
blockstack
Stacks (STX) $ 1.69 1.26%
crypto-com-chain
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.092382 8.80%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 40.39 3.12%
dogwifcoin
dogwifhat (WIF) $ 2.39 0.36%
first-digital-usd
First Digital USD (FDUSD) $ 1.00 0.17%
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 0.696342 17.34%
arbitrum
Arbitrum (ARB) $ 0.583667 8.57%
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 3.78 3.12%