Dear Reader,

 

Today's overview of economic news and market action

  • Yen remained under the FX spotlight yesterday
  • Continued to be volatile following ‘unconfirmed’ official intervention
  • In overnight action, USD/JPY has settled into a ¥156-157
  • Elsewhere, euro modestly softer over the past 24 hours
  • EUR/USD back below $1.07, EUR/GBP in the lower half of 85-86p
  • Busy macro data diary today
  • Includes EZ Q1 GDP and April inflation, as well as US Q1 Employment Cost Index
 
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Today's Opening FX Rates
 
    % Change
      Day* End 2023
EUR/USD 1.0693   -0.32 -3.11
EUR/GBP 0.8534   -0.21 -1.55
GBP/USD 1.2527   -0.10 -1.59
GBP/EUR 1.1712   0.21 1.57
*versus Previous Day's European Open
 
 
Weekly Market Brief: 29 Apr-3 May
 

Tide Turning for the Eurozone Economy?

 

This week’s macro data provided further evidence that the US economy is beginning to slow from the rapid pace of growth seen in 2023. The 1.6% rise in GDP in Q1 was well below the market consensus of 2.4%, and reflected a broad-based slowdown in both domestic spending and net exports.
 
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ECB Watch - April 2024
 

ECB signals June rate cut on the cards


As widely anticipated, the ECB’s Governing Council meeting for April saw the central bank maintain its key deposit rate at 4%. It marked the fifth consecutive policy meeting that the ECB has kept rates unchanged. There was “consensus” rather than unanimity within the Governing Council on the decision.
 
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Irish Economy Watch - April
 

PMI fell to 49.6 in Mar. The slight decline reflected a fall in new business and output and a sharp drop in sentiment. Meantime, inflationary pressures in the sector continued to build
 
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