Dear Reader,

Here is an overview of today's economic news and market action:

• Risk-off mood on markets last week …
• Concerns regarding stress in the US banking-system weighed on sentiment …
• Over the weekend, US authorities have closed SV bank …
• They have also introduced new measures to support the wider banking-system …
• The dollar has weakened over the weekend, as US rates have softened considerably …
• EUR/USD opens up above $1.07 …
• GBP/USD is operating up above $1.21 …
• EUR/GBP is at the midpoint of 88-89p …
• This week, the ECB is expected to hike rates by 50bps …
• US CPI inflation data (Feb) and SV Bank fallout will be focus also …

No Sham-Rock

• The latest Quarterly Bulletin from the Central Bank saw upgrades to its forecasts for the Irish economy.
• The Central Bank’s growth forecasts are somewhat more upbeat than the recently published projections from the European Commission

Click the link to listen to AIB Market Talk featuring discussions with our Economists and Treasury experts, providing you with specialist insight into the prevailing topics impacting Financial Markets.

Recent inflation data have been disappointing, especially in regard to core measures. It started in the US, with the latest data for core inflation, which excludes food and energy, posting unexpectedly large monthly increases of 0.6% and 0.4% for January and December, respectively, leaving the annual rate stuck around 4.7%.

Ireland's service sector gained some further growth momentum midway through the first quarter of the year with the latest AIB PMI® survey data marking exactly two consecutive years of monthly improvements in business activity, new business, and employment.

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