Hawkish / dovish
The tone of central bank communication: hawkish favors tight monetary policy (higher rates), dovish favors loose policy (lower rates).
The same rate decision can trigger opposite market reactions depending on the tone of the statement: rates on hold, but a line like "further hikes may be needed" counts as a hawkish surprise.
What matters to a trader isn't the absolute tone but the change relative to expectations: if the market already expects a hawkish stance, a hawkish statement may not produce a move.
Related terms
Where it appears in the guides
Guides whose text uses this term; most frequent first.