Suppressing high inflation, many countries have entered a cycle of continuous interest rate hikes1

Brazil's central bank has raised its inflation forecast for this year again. According to the latest "Focus Survey" released by the Central Bank of Brazil on the 21st local time, the Brazilian financial market predicts that the Brazilian inflation rate will reach 6.59% this year, which is higher than the previous forecast.

To curb inflation, the Bank of England has raised interest rates three times so far, pushing the benchmark interest rate from 0.1% to the current 0.75%. The U.S. Federal Reserve announced on the 16th that it raised the target range of the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to between 0.25% and 0.5%, the first rate hike since December 2018. In other countries, central banks have raised interest rates several times and show no signs of stopping.

Several Fed officials delivered speeches on the 23rd, expressing support for raising the federal funds rate by 50 basis points at the monetary policy meeting held on May 3-4.

Argentina's central bank announced on the 22nd that it will raise the benchmark interest rate from 42.5% to 44.5%. This is the third time Argentina's central bank has raised interest rates this year. Inflation in Argentina has continued to rise recently, and the month-on-month inflation data in December last year, January and February this year showed an accelerated upward trend. The National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina expects the annual inflation rate in Argentina to reach 52.1% this year.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Egypt held an interim meeting on the 21st to announce interest rate hikes, raising the base rate by 100 basis points to 9.75%, and the overnight deposit and lending rates by 100 basis points to 9.25% and 10.25%, respectively, in order to alleviate the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the epidemic. Inflationary pressure. This is Egypt's first rate hike since 2017.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Brazil announced on the 16th that it would raise interest rates by 100 basis points, raising the benchmark interest rate to 11.75%. This is the ninth consecutive rate hike by Brazil's central bank since March 2021. The "Focus Survey" released by the Central Bank of Brazil on the 21st predicts that the benchmark interest rate in Brazil will reach 13% this year.