Global markets keep eye on geopolitics

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - As Russia's war on Ukraine continues, investors remain cautious and continue to keep an eye on geopolitics.

Major central banks accelerated their transition to tighten monetary policies in the face of inflationary pressures mostly driven by the war.

Despite the rate of increase, the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate was seen as dovish in the face of historically high inflation. Fed's verbal guidance and projections were evaluated as hawkish.

Following the Fed, the Bank of England (BoE) hiked interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.75% at its third meeting in a row on Wednesday.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Friday decided to maintain its monetary easing policy amid inflation shock and the Russia-Ukraine war's impact on the global economy.

Unlike other major central banks such as the US Fed and Bank of England which shifted to tighter policy and higher interest rates, the BOJ did not change its monetary policy, keeping the policy rate unchanged at minus 0.1.%.

Russia's central bank is set to announce its first rate decision since the war, with the expectation that it will keep the benchmark at 20%, the highest in almost two decades.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed another term for Elvira Nabiullina as chief of the Russian central bank. Nabiullina has governed the bank since 2013.

Oil prices jumped on Friday as ongoing talks between Ukraine and Russia failed to bring the sides closer toward a resolution to end the war.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $108.53 per barrel for a 1.77% gain after closing the previous session at $106.64 a barrel.