Dear Reader,

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

• Financial markets were very volatile last week …
• Very large moves on equity, bond and interest rates markets …
• Trading conditions were choppy on currency markets …
• EUR/USD opens near the midpoint of $1.06-1.07 …
• GBP/USD is in the top half of $1.21-1.22 …
• EUR/GBP is back between 87-88p …
• Fed & BoE meeting the highlights this week …
• Market volatility will likely remain elevated this week …

Down, but Not Out

• The Eurozone is Ireland’s biggest trading partner, accounting for circa 35% of goods and 30% of service exports
• Encouragingly, survey data suggest that the Eurozone economy has regained some momentum so far this year, helped by a fall in wholesale energy prices and supportive fiscal policies

The March meeting of the ECB’s Governing Council saw the central bank raise rates by 50bps, which brings the key deposit rate up to 3%. 

Last week’s Quarterly Bulletin from the Central Bank saw upgrades to its forecasts for the Irish economy. This was largely due to a better than expected global economic backdrop as well as downward revisions to projections for the path of inflation in 2023.

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