Rate cuts this week to end year of easing

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 centre stage on Wednesday, followed by peers in Japan, the Nordics and the UK over the following day – 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 close of play on Friday, at least 22 central banks accounting for two-fifths of the global economy will have set borrowing costs.
The upshot is likely to underscore how momentum for easing now looks increasingly uneven as policymakers weigh up differing risks in the coming year.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.