LONDON (Reuters) - The pace of interest rate hikes by major developed and emerging market central banks continued at a healthy clip in March though the scale of rises tapered off somewhat as turmoil in the banking sector clouded the outlook for global growth.
March saw six interest rate hikes across eight meetings by central banks overseeing the 10 most heavily traded currencies. Policy makers in Australia, Switzerland, Norway and Britain joined the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank in lifting key lending rates by a total of 200 basis points (bps). Policy makers in Japan and Canada kept benchmarks unchanged.
This follows six interest rate hikes delivering 250 bps of uplift across six meetings by G10 central banks in February.
March was a roller coaster for markets and policy makers, with rising expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate could peak at 6 percent, before a collapse of a number of U.S. banks and the Credit Suisse crunch rocked global markets, raised concerns over financial stability and clouded growth prospects.
“The Fed and other central banks made clear banking troubles would not stop them from further tightening,” Wei Li, global chief investment strategist at the BlackRock Investment Institute, wrote in a note to clients.