After around two years of aggressive interest rate hikes from the main central banks, monetary policy makers are still on hold and currently deploying a “data-dependent” approach in setting monetary policy. Overall, central banks are waiting for further signs that underlying inflation is on a sustained downward trajectory to give them confidence that it will fall back towards 2% before they will contemplate cutting rates. Amid some upside surprises on the data front, and on-going hawkish central bank rhetoric, market rate expectations have hardened since late January.