Our Scans · (FS.1.02) Central Banking · Weekly Summary

• [New] The European Central Bank left its policy rate unchanged at 2.0% while aiming to bring back inflation to its 2% target and balancing the risk that higher energy costs could both lift inflation and weigh on growth. Callan
• [New] The US Senate has passed a bill banning the Federal Reserve from issuing CBDCs until 2030. Sumsub
• [New] Central Bank Digital Currencies will be shaped by the things that have always decided which currencies are the most important, in the world. seaglobalfx
• [New] Tariff clouds are clearing, most central banks have dialled back restrictive monetary policy, and in aggregate the world will benefit from additional fiscal stimulus in 2026. Global English
• [New] As the US-Iran conflict emerges as the dominant near-term driver of global financial markets, institutional allocators are confronting an abrupt and simultaneous repricing of energy assets, central bank policy trajectories, and equity risk premia that few year-end models anticipated. The Norfolk Daily News
• [New] In a significant financial technology advancement, South Korea's insurance development institute and central bank have launched a groundbreaking initiative to create digital currency-based insurance products that could transform disaster response and financial protection systems nationwide. CryptoRank
• [New] Persistent geopolitical uncertainty, US fiscal deficits and de-dollarisation - a significant reduction in the use of the US dollar in world trade and financial transactions - will sustain central bank demand for gold. ST
• [New] The Bank of England is expected to take a cautious approach to monetary policy. KPMG
• [New] Broader central-bank demand is expected to remain strong, with total purchases projected by ANZ analysts at around 850 tons in 2026. Stock Market Update
• [New] ANZ Bank expects recent price corrections to motivate more stockpiling, with official central-bank buying for 2026 to be around 850 tons. financialpost
• [New] The Central Bank of Argentina estimates that mining exports could triple by 2030, while Economy Minister Luis Caputo projects US$ 165 billion in exports by 2035. Discovery Alert
• [New] The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has transformed a geopolitical risk into a global supply shock affecting energy markets, supply chains, inflation dynamics, and monetary policy worldwide. Rothschild & Co
• [New] Interest-rate futures show traders have scaled back expectations for multiple cuts, with many now expecting the Fed to hold rates steady through most of the year due to resilient growth and renewed inflation risks tied to energy prices. / USA usfunds
• [New] The Bank of England has warned of hidden risks in private credit markets, with concerns about undisclosed poor-quality loans. CPA | The Credit Protection Association
• [New] Sustained hikes in energy costs could push inflation higher globally, complicating the outlook for interest rates at a time when markets anticipated monetary policy relief. alliancebernstein
• [New] An assistant governor at the Bank of Thailand (BoT) says it would be likely to follow other central banks if they tightened policy in response to the Middle East conflict, though it will not raise rates immediately. Central Banking
• [New] We recognize that higher energy prices will affect the trajectory of EM growth, inflation, and monetary policy in 2026, leaving us less enthusiastic about dollar-denominated EM debt than we were at the end of last year. J.P. Morgan Asset Management
• [New] The number of Federal Reserve policymakers willing to consider an interest rate hike in 2026 rose between the January and March meetings, as higher gas prices stemming from the Iran war threatened to worsen inflation in the coming months. Boulder Daily Camera
• [New] The European Central Bank has made resilience to geopolitical risks and macro-financial uncertainty a supervisory priority. CIO
• [New] The upcoming US CPI data may become a decisive factor: stronger inflation could reinforce expectations of tighter monetary policy, while easing inflation pressure could provide support for gold. NordFX
• [New] The Bank of England hikes rates to address second-round inflation anchoring risk, further compressing consumer spending and business investment simultaneously. / UK US Recession News
• The Director of Monetary Policy at the Bank of Albania, Erald Themeli, stated that the Albanian economy is expected to maintain positive growth rates, expanding by around 4% in 2026. ALBANIA DAILY NEWS
• Peru's central bank is widely expected to keep rates unchanged at 4.25% for a seventh consecutive meeting. Brown Brothers Harriman

Last updated: 16 April 2026