LONDON, July 4 Reuters The world39;s major central banks delivered in June the biggest number of monthly interest rate hikes yeartodate, surprising markets and flagging more tightening ahead as policy makers grapple to get the upper hand in their battle against inflation.

Seven of the nine central banks overseeing the 10 most heavily traded currencies that met in June hiked rates, while two opted for no change, Reuters data showed.

Both Norway and the Bank of England surprised markets last month with a largerthanexpected 50 basis points move, while Canada and Australia resumed their rate hiking cycles. Sweden, Switzerland and the European Central Bank also tightened policy, taking the total monthly tally of hikes to 225 basis points last month. May had seen six rate hikes across six meetings.

While some central banks are seeing initial progress toward lower inflation, central bankers overall continue to face a tough balancing act, said Tiffany Wilding, economist at PIMCO.

Without fiscal policy ready to save the day, we see a more uncertain growth environment with downside risks building over the cyclical horizon.

The latest G10 moves bring the total 2023 rate hike tally among G10 central banks to 950 bps across 28 hikes. Looking at moves since Norway kicked off the rate hiking cycle in September 2021, major central banks have hiked interest rates so far by 3,765 bps.

While the U.S. Federal Reserve39;s pause at its June meeting did not come as a surprise, the…