Mexico kept interest rates unchanged at a record high for the seventh straight meeting Thursday while signaling a growing openness to weighing a cut in the coming months. Earlier, inflation accelerated for the third straight month in January.
Bank of Japan officials are likely to discuss cutting their forecasts for economic growth and a gauge of inflation that includes energy when they gather to set policy later this month, even as their overall assessment of price trends remains intact, according to people familiar with the matter.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. will exclude Egypt from local-currency bond indexes tracked by billions of dollars worth of emerging market funds, underscoring the pressure on the country to resolve dire shortages of foreign exchange.
The yen extended gains after Bank of Japan indicated it will reduce monthly buying of super-long government bonds, in a reminder that it may still move to cut stimulus this year.
Ecuador saw renewed violence overnight after President Daniel Noboa imposed a nationwide curfew as part of a state of emergency declared amid a manhunt for a notorious drug lord.