Dear Reader,

Today's overview of economic news and market action:

• • There was a quiet start to the week on financial markets yesterday … 
  • A US market holiday and a sparse data schedule contributed to the quiet start to the week …
  • Against this backdrop, the main FX pairs were extremely range bound … 
  • EUR/USD opens this morning back near $1.076 … 
  • EUR/GBP remains at the midpoint of 85-86p … 
  • GBP/USD is down below the $1.26 threshold ..
  • Relatively quiet macro-calendar pencilled in for today also …

AIB Ireland Services PMI - August

Strong growth in the Irish service sector was sustained during August with the latest AIB PMI® survey data marking exactly two-and-a-half years of successive monthly improvements in business activity, new business, and employment.

Payback Time

The National Accounts data from the CSO for H1 2023 show that the rate of growth in the Irish economy has decelerated markedly from the breakneck speed seen in 2021 and 2022.

Economic data, especially on labour markets, have generally surprised to the upside to date in 2023. Global economy, though, still facing considerable headwinds, with risks to the downside.

Downside Risks Still Prevail for Global Economy

Surging inflation combined with a marked tightening of monetary policy, amid an environment of weakening confidence levels and heightened geo-political tensions, especially in relation to Ukraine, saw the world economy slow sharply during 2022. However, concerns that advanced economies could be facing a recession in 2023 have largely abated.