Market Talk Roundup: Norges Bank Raises Rates, Another Rise in September Is Likely Aug 17, 202311:59 GMT+1 Norges Bank raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 4% on Thursday, as expected, and flagged the likelihood of another rise next month given inflation remains high. It refrained from further guidance, however, leaving the possibility that September could mark the central bank's final rate increase. The Norwegian krone rises following the announcement. The following is a selection of analyst comments.
Norges Bank Poised For One Last Hike, Krone Could Strengthen From Here
1049 GMT - Norway's central bank is poised for one final rate increase in September, and with other major central banks either at or close to their peak for policy rates, the impetus to raise rates further is fading, ING's James Smith and Francesco Pesole say in a note. The last set of forecasts saw the policy rate peaking at 4.25% later this year and there's little reason to doubt that, they say. The krone is moderately stronger today and a period of stabilisation in risk sentiment could dramatically increase the currency's attractiveness, with ING anticipating a broad-based rally in the krone before year-end. The bank expects the 11.00 level in EUR/NOK to be tested before year-end. EUR/NOK trades at 11.5145, down 0.2% on the day. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)
Norges Bank Versus ECB Divergence Seen Supporting Krone
1030 GMT - The Norwegian krone could be set to rise as Norges Bank is likely to raise interest rates further after Thursday's 25 basis-point increase to 4.0%, especially as eurozone interest rates look closer to peaking, Nick Rees, FX market analyst at Monex Europe, says in a note. "With the European Central Bank likely at the end of policy tightening and the Norgesbank set to keep on going, we expect a stronger krone as our base case all else being equal, especially given an explicit signal for further policy tightening to come," he says in a note. He adds that slowing global growth, FX purchases and oil prices could all play a role in driving EUR/NOK. EUR/NOK falls 0.2% to