Euro a touch firmer

The euro is a little firmer this morning and is knocking on the door of $1.20 and 87p against the dollar and sterling respectively. The pound, meanwhile, is largely unchanged against the US currency trading just below the $1.38 level

US equity markets ended marginally lower yesterday while European stocks chalked up modest gains. In bonds markets, German 10-year yields nudged up to -0.26% with equivalent US yields flat on the day at around 1.63%

Industrial production in the Euro Area declined for a second month in three in February according to data published yesterday, falling by 1% from January and leaving it 1.6% lower than in the corresponding month in 2020

ECB President Christine Lagarde says “both fiscal and monetary support are needed and will be needed until the pandemic crisis is over” and “will be needed well into the (economic) recovery” from the crisis

Here at home, the Department of Finance expects the economy to grow in GDP terms by 4.5% this year and by 5.0% next year, with growth seen averaging 3.3% per annum over the period 2023-2025

Data due today includes retail sales, industrial production and jobless claims in the US