Nov 2, 2020 - Economy

Fed meeting eyed as central banks shift to more easing

Dion Rabouin

The Federal Reserve Building. — Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

The Fed's meeting this week will carry extra significance after the European Central Bank all but promised it would further ease monetary policy this month, likely by cutting its already negative interest rates on deposits and adding to its already substantial quantitative easing program.

Why it matters: Whether or not the Fed chooses to expand its QE program, as governors have hinted at in recent weeks, will have an impact on every asset as the Fed's decision not to add to its current slate of stimulative policies is becoming increasingly uncommon among global central banks.

Watch this space: ECB president Christine Lagarde referred to the “recalibration” of the ECB’s policy 20 times in her one-hour press conference, suggesting that the central bank could take even more unconventional steps to help stimulate the region's economy as it faces a second wave of coronavirus infections.

Policymakers at the Bank of Canada took the action many expected the Fed to take at its most recent policy meeting, shifting bond purchases through its QE program to longer-dated maturities.
The Reserve Bank of Australia signaled that it plans to cut record-low interest rates again at its November meeting and add to its QE program.

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Fed meeting eyed as central banks shift to more easing

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