Dear Reader,

 

Today's overview of economic news and market action

  • Looking back over Q1, dollar held the upper hand
  • EZ macro newsflow offered some encouragement
  • Fed/ECB/BoE appeared in no hurry to cut rates
  • Markets listened, pricing in fewer rate cuts for 2024
  • EUR/USD starts Q2 below $1.08
  • EUR/GBP remains within 85-86p
  • This week’s macro highlights are US payrolls and EZ inflation
 
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Today's Opening FX Rates
 
    % Change
      Day* End 2022
EUR/USD 1.0728   -0.54 -2.79
EUR/GBP 0.8551   0.13 -1.35
GBP/USD 1.2541   -0.67 -1.48
GBP/EUR 1.1686   -0.13 1.37
*versus Previous Day's European Open
 
 
Bank of England Watch - March 2024
 

BoE gradually moving towards cutting interest rates

 

The March meeting of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) saw the central bank keep its key interest rate unchanged at 5.25%. This decision was very much in line with market expectations.
 
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Fed Watch - March 2024
 

Fed primed for 75bps of cuts in 2024, starting in summer 

 

The US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee’s second meeting of 2024 saw its key interest rate left on hold last night. The target range for the Fed funds rate remains at 5.25-5.50%, a 22-year high. 
 
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Irish Economy Watch - March
 

PMI jumped to 52.2 in Feb, its highest level since June 2022. A sharp rise in output and employment, alongside growth in new orders were the key features of the survey.
 
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