BOARD MEETING: The bank predicted that domestic demand will underpin GDP growth, as exports could seem less impressive due to a high comparison base

Taipei Times
Date: May 05, 2018
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The central bank expects Taiwan’s economy to grow 2.58 percent this year and has no intention of tightening monetary policy in the near future as uncertainty lingers, the minutes of its latest board meeting showed.

The growth forecast is higher than the 2.42 percent increase the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics projected in February, but remains less than the 2.86 percent pickup recorded last year.

At the March 23 meeting, all central bank board members agreed to keep the rediscount rate at 1.375 percent, even though the real interest rate slipped into negative territory due to a higher inflation reading, the 17-page document said.

“While the real interest rate turned negative, this was just one of the elements considered in the bank’s monetary policy deliberation,” the minutes quoted one board director as saying.    [FULL  STORY]