GLOBAL TRENDS: An accommodative monetary policy is warranted, as the global economy remains fragile, central bank Governor Yang Chin-long said

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 20, 2019
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The central bank yesterday kept its rediscount rate unchanged at 1.375 percent for the 14th

consecutive quarter, saying there is still room for the nation’s economy to improve, as inflation remains benign.

The move was in line with the stance of major central banks, which have embarked on monetary easing to cushion the impact of the US-China trade dispute, geopolitical frictions and other downside risks.

“The negative output gap, which now stands at 0.34 percent, could widen to 0.42 percent next year,” bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a news conference in Taipei after a board meeting.

The output gap — the difference between actual GDP and potential GDP — has topped the list of the bank’s concerns when it sets policy rates on a quarterly basis.    [FULL  STORY]