Markets and operations - 2014 Q4

International monetary policy diverged over the review period, with the Federal Reserve bringing an end to ‘tapering’, while the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan both announced further loosening. Long-term interest rates declined somewhat, continuing the downward trend observed since the start of the year. Contacts attributed the fall to a combination of changes in both the expected path of policy and the level of long-run real rates, as well as reductions in term premia. Moves in exchange rates were broadly in line with developments in the outlook for the international economy and central bank policy. There was a modest pickup in volatility in the foreign exchange market. In October, worries about low growth contributed to a period of heightened volatility in a number of markets, with the turbulence thought to have been exacerbated by low market liquidity. Some risky asset prices fell during the episode but subsequently recovered much of the lost ground.