Executive Summary
- U.S. Fed announced a slew of measures on March 15th, 2020 to aid the economy as coronavirus outbreak spreads with an emergency rate cut of 100 bps and USD 700 billion quantitative easing program topping the list. This marks the Fed's second emergency rate cut in two weeks.
- Central Bank of Kuwait followed the U.S. Fed reducing its discount rate by 100 bps from 2.50% to 1.50%. Qatar has also cut its policy rate by 100 bps. UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have cut their policy rates by 75 bps.
- While it is a powerful signal that the U.S. Fed is willing to do what it takes to boost the economy, given the current uncertainty, the extent to which the central bank's measures would be successful and if more such measures would be required remains to be seen.
