Euro a touch softer

The euro has lost a little ground against the dollar, dipping to just under $1.13, and against sterling, slipping to about 83.5p again, while the pound is holding its own against the US currency as it continues to trade at around $1.35

US stocks resumed their descent yesterday with the S&P 500 shedding almost 1.5%, more that reversing Monday’s modest gains, while European stocks clawed back some ground following’s Mondays sharp sell-off, closing up around 1%, and have opened in positive territory again this morning

Government bond yields are nudging higher with US and German 10-year yields at 1.79% and -0.07% respectively and equivalent UK yields up to 1.19%

In its latest economic projections, the IMF expects global growth to moderate to 4.4% in 2022 (from 5.9% in 2021), which is a half a percentage point lower than projected three months ago largely reflecting forecast downgrades for the US and Chinese economies this year

The IMF’s forecast for the global economy is “conditioned on adverse health outcomes (related to the pandemic) – severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths – coming down to low levels in most countries” by end-2022

The Central Bank of Ireland expects “continued strong growth” in the Irish economy this year and next year, with GDP forecast to increase by 8.7% and 5.0% respectively according to its latest projections published this morning

The Fed concludes its two-day monetary policy meeting later today and – having already announced that its bond purchases will end soon – may signal that a first increase in interest rates is likely in March

Data due today includes new home sales and the trade balance in the US