Taiwan central bank minutes show no hurry to change rates

  • 4/29/2021
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TAIPEI, April 29 (Reuters) - Taiwanese central bank policymakers will not rush to alter interest rates due to continued economic uncertainty about COVID-19, minutes of their March meeting showed on Thursday. The central bank last month left its policy rate unchanged at 1.125%, the lowest on record, and raised its growth outlook for 2021 to 4.53% as strong exports bolstered the trade-reliant economy in the face of the pandemic. All board directors supported keeping the policy rate unchanged at the meeting “based on the assessment of lingering uncertainties over domestic economic growth amid the unabated global coronavirus pandemic”, the minutes said. One board member noted that discussions about a rate adjustment would have to wait until at least the end of the government’s relief measures on June 30, it added. Taiwan last year began rolling out a stimulus package worth T$1.05 trillion ($37.70 billion) to help cushion the blow. The central bank said another board member director stated that a rate cut would have “a limited effect given the circumstances, and the global economic recovery was still faced with high uncertainties”. Another board member said there was little space for rate adjustments given that advanced economies were broadly keeping an accommodative monetary policy stance and that more U.S. stimulus was expected to come. Market concerns surrounding U.S. inflation could lead to more uncertainty for the Taiwan dollar so the bank should closely monitor how exchange rate movements might affect Taiwanese firms, the central bank cited the same board member as saying. The strength of the Taiwan dollar is an area of persistent concern for the central bank as it makes exports more expensive. Taiwan’s tech-dependent economy has bounced back strongly due to global demand for laptops, tablets and other equipment to support the work and study from home trend. The government will give preliminary figures for first- quarter GDP on Friday, with economists polled by Reuters predicting a 6.1% growth rate for the first three months of 2021. ($1 = 27.8500 Taiwan dollars) (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Alison Williams)

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