Author: Patrick Mullane

Quiet day on Thanksgiving

With US markets closed for Thanksgiving, markets took a breather and it was a quiet day overall. There was little data or news to move the needle for the major currencies. The euro was little changed – touching off $1.16 at times briefly – and remains at around $1.1580 currently. Similarly, the euro is little […]

Muted market reaction as UK budget puts off difficult decisions

There was some market volatility yesterday as the details of the UK budget were leaked early. This initially put sterling under a little pressure but, in the end, sterling actually gained somewhat once the full budget was revealed. Sterling is now trading at about 87.5p to the euro and above $1.32 against the dollar. The […]

UK Budget delays tax hikes but difficult questions unanswered

Today’s UK Budget put-off difficult tax increases until late-on in the life of the parliament. The plan to gradually reduce public sector borrowing to 1.9% of GDP by 2029/30 still relies on relatively optimistic assumptions on UK GDP growth and that the Labour government sticks to spending restraint in the run-up to the next general […]

Dollar on the back foot

Speculation that a Russia-Ukraine peace deal was advancing saw the euro gain sharply yesterday. The single currency rose 0.5% back towards $1.1580, having touched off $1.15 at the end of last week. Also not helping the dollar were rumours that close Trump ally and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett was now the frontrunner for […]

Dollar gains halted as euro steadies

The euro made up some ground against the dollar midday yesterday to touch off $1.1550, but retreated again later on. That left the euro slightly up on the day at around $1.1525 this morning. This halted the dollar’s advance which had gained about 0.9% last week. There was a limited amount of data to move […]

Dollar has a good week

The dollar advanced again on the euro on Friday to end a good week for the US currency. The dollar has gained to about $1.1520 to the euro this morning from over $1.1620 at the start of last week. The dollar also gained on sterling last week to around $1.31, appreciating about 1 cent over […]

Irish employment growth slows

Employment grew by 1.1% year-on-year (y-o-y) in Ireland in Q3 2025 taking the number employed to over 2.825m, a new record high. However, quarterly growth was very modest, at just 0.1%. This means that following solid jobs growth in Q1, employment has been more or less flat for the past two quarters. While there were […]

What to make of the rise in Ireland’s unemployment rate to 5%

Ireland’s labour market data have been volatile of late. The CSO’s initial estimate of the unemployment rate in June was 4%, subsequently revised up to 4.6%. The latest data now point to an abrupt spike up in the unemployment rate to 5% in July, sustained through the summer. However, seasonal factors may be at play […]

November 26th budget may well lead Bank of England to cut rates below 3.5%

Sterling remains under pressure today, at 88p against the euro, close to its weakest level since early 2023. The catalyst was yesterday’s Bank of England decision to keep rates on hold at 4%, but with Governor Andrew Bailey’s press conference seen as endorsing the market curve for two further 25bp rate cuts to 3.5% in […]

Ireland Infographic – October 2025

We expect GDP will expand by 10.7% in 2025 and by 3.1% in 2026. Download the Ireland Infographic here: Bank of Ireland Ireland Infographic October 2025