31 May 2017

Minutes of the MPC

Here are the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Iceland from the meeting held on 15 and 16 May 2017. There, the Committee discussed economic and financial market developments, the interest rate decision on 17 May, and the communication of that decision.

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23 May 2017

Minutes of the second meeting of the Macroeconomic Council

The second meeting of the Macroeconomic Council was held on 6 April 2017. Members of the Council are the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources, executives from the Confederation of Icelandic Employers, Association of Local Authorities, and Central Bank of Iceland.

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19 May 2017

Terms, conditions, purch. offshore kr. assets

With reference to press releases issued by the Central Bank on 5 May 2017, the Bank offers to purchase offshore króna assets as these are defined in the Act on the Treatment of Króna-Denominated Assets Subject to Special Restrictions, no. 37/2016, in cash and for euros, at an exchange rate of 137.5 krónur per euro. This offer applies to deposits, bills, and bonds issued by the Treasury or the Housing Financing Fund (HFF), and Central Bank certificates of deposit (CBI2016).

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18 May 2017

Central Bank suspends regular foreign currency purchases

With reference to announcements to that effect, the Central Bank of Iceland has since 2002 bought foreign currency from market makers in the foreign exchange market, albeit with several pauses, both to enable the Treasury to service its foreign debt and to support the foreign exchange reserves. In the recent term, the Bank’s regular purchases have totalled 6 million euros per week. In 2016, they totalled 312 million euros, the equivalent of 41.7 b.kr. This accounted for 11% of the Bank’s net foreign exchange purchases in the market during the year. The Bank’s large-scale purchases in recent years have led to a sizeable increase in the reserves, which means that there is no need to continue these regular purchases at present. They will be suspended beginning next week.

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17 May 2017

A webcast explaining the MPC's decision starts at 10:00

A webcast explaining the Monetary Policy Committee‘s interest rate decision starts at 10:00. At 08:55, the interest rate decision will be announced on the Bank‘s website and at 9:00 the Monetary Bulletin will be published. Már Guðmundsson, Governor of the Central Bank of Iceland and Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee, and Thorarinn G. Petursson, Chief Economist of the Central Bank of Iceland and Monetary Policy Committee member, will explain the rationale behind the Committee‘s decision.

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