Norges Bank

Staff Memo

Bond market fire sales and turbulence in the Norwegian FX market in March 2020

Author:
Ragna Alstadheim, Kjell Bjørn Nordal, Olav Syrstad, Saskia Ter Ellen and May-Iren Walstad Wassas
Series:
Staff Memo
Number:
2/2021

Abstract

The world witnessed a meltdown in financial markets in March 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic hit the global economy. In this memo we document how the turbulence affected Norwegian financial markets. We describe possible mechanisms behind the stress in the Norwegian foreign exchange and bond markets, and how policy measures were used by Norges Bank to alleviate market frictions.

Staff Memo inneholder utredninger og dokumentasjon skrevet av Norges Banks ansatte og andre forfattere tilknyttet Norges Bank. Synspunkter og konklusjoner i arbeidene er ikke nødvendigvis representative for Norges Bank.

ISSN 1504-2596 (online)

Published 29 January 2021 09:00
Published 29 January 2021 09:00