The 24 hours of rate cuts that end year of global central-bank easing

By Friday, 22 central banks accounting for two-fifths of the global economy will have set borrowing cost

- CRAIG STIRLING

A year when inflation subsided enough for monetary policy easing to start in most advanced economies is about to conclude with a 24-hour flurry of decisions led by the Federal Reserve.

The US announcement will take center stage on Wednesday, followed by peers in Japan, the Nordics and, the UK – amounting to half of the world's 10 most-traded currency jurisdictions.

Those events will draw most attention among investors bracing for the last big week for monetary policy in 2024. By Friday, at least 22 central banks accounting for two-fifths of the global economy will have set borrowing costs.

While the Fed itself is poised to deliver a quarter-point rate cut, the dawn of 2025 and the prospect of inflationary import tariffs threatened by the incoming administration of Donald Trump may give officials pause about the pace of further moves.

The Bank of England, mindful both of the growth shock its trade policies could cause but also of lingering price pressures, is reducing borrowing costs only cautiously and is widely expected to keep them on hold on Thursday.