• Central bank bosses to discuss monetary policy collectively in ECB forum.
• Divergence on recent monetary policy between Fed, ECB, BoE and BoJ makes the event particularly interesting.
• Jerome Powell vocabulary will be particularly scrutinized ahead of expected rate hike in July.

Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve System (Fed) and Christine Lagarde, European Central Bank (ECB) President, will be speaking at the 2023 ECB Forum on Central Banking at 13:30 GMT on Wednesday, June 28th. 

Alongside Fed Chairman Powell, Bank of England Governor (BoE) Andrew Bailey and Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda will also be taking part at the same panel.

The Fed left its policy rate unchanged at the range of 5%-5.25% following the June policy meeting but left the door wide open for a return to a 25 basis points (bps) rate hike in July. The ECB raised key rates by 25 bps in June and Lagarde noted that it is very likely the case that the ECB will continue to hike rates in July. In an unexpected decision, the BoE lifted its policy rate by 50 bps to 5% in response to strong wage inflation and Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures recorded in May. Finally, the BoJ maintained its loose policy settings in June but experts think the BoJ could review its Yield Curve Control strategy as early as next month for a possible tweak later this year. 

About Jerome Powell (via Federalreserve.gov)

"Jerome H. Powell first took office as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on February 5, 2018, for a four-year term. He was reappointed to the office and sworn in for a second four-year term on May 23, 2022. Mr. Powell also serves as Chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee, the System's principal monetary policymaking body. Mr. Powell has served as a member of the Board of Governors since taking office on May 25, 2012, to fill an unexpired term. He was reappointed to the Board and sworn in on June 16, 2014, for a term ending January 31, 2028."