BEIJING, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates a quarter-point on Wednesday in a widely-anticipated move, while indicating fewer cuts next year and raising its inflation outlook.
The Fed's more cautious stance on rate cuts has disappointed markets and traders, leaving investors struggling to evaluate how it would affect global interest rates looking ahead.
The following are the latest moves of some central banks around the world:
-- The Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Thursday decided to keep its key short-term rate on hold at around 0.25 percent at the end of a two-day policy meeting, as widely expected by the market.
The Japanese currency later further dropped past 157 yen at one point, the weakest rate since July, as BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda told a press conference that he would need more information to determine how companies would raise wages in annual negotiations in the spring, fueling speculation that the central bank may hold rates steady again in January.
"There remain high uncertainties surrounding Japan's economic activity and prices, including developments in overseas economic activity and prices," said a BOJ statement.
-- The Bank of England (BoE) has held its benchmark interest rate at 4.75 percent, Britain's central bank said in a statement on Thursday.
The 12-month consumer price inflation increased to 2.6 percent in November, which is "slightly higher than previous expectations," due to stronger inflation in core goods and food, according to the BoE.
The impact of the Fed's comments on the BoE was likely to be minimal, but a higher dollar could weigh on sterling, pushing up inflation on imported goods and ultimately slowing the pace of cuts, CNBC reported, citing Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter Investors.
-- Norway's central bank held its policy rate unchanged at a 16-year high of 4.5 percent on Thursday, and indicated its intention to cut rates three times in 2025, down from four cuts predicted previously.
"The committee judges that a restrictive monetary policy is still needed to stabilize inflation around target, but that the time to begin easing monetary policy is soon approaching," Norges Bank Governor Ida Wolden Bache said in a statement.
The bank also expressed concerns over "the risk of an increase in international trade barriers" next year, noting higher tariffs will likely dampen global growth.
-- The Riksbank, Sweden's central bank, cut rates by a quarter-point to 2.5 percent on Thursday, in line with expectations, but signaled it can slow its easing pace in early 2025 after cuts of 1.5 percentage points so far this year.
The central bank said it favors a more tentative approach, noting that monetary policy affects the economy with a lag.
-- The Swiss National Bank cut rates by an unexpectedly large 50 basis points last week, taking its main rate to 0.5 percent.
The impact of Fed policy on Switzerland could be slightly greater, CNBC reported, citing Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at the global financial services firm Ebury.
A stronger dollar and the weakening of the safe haven Swiss franc could prompt a more hawkish stance from the Swiss central bank, Ryan observed. ■
