Euro little changed

The euro is not much changed against the dollar and sterling this morning at just over $1.07 and a bit above 88p respectively, while the pound is trading at about $1.2150 against the US currency

European equity markets partially rebounded yesterday, regaining around 2% having fallen by 3% in Monday’s session, while the S&P in the US closed higher, by around 1.7%, for the first day in four

Government bond yields have also partially rebounded, with US 10-year yields rising to 3.70% from lows of around 3.5% earlier in the week and equivalent German yields up to almost 2.50% from Monday’s close of 2.25%

The annual rate of CPI inflation in the US fell for an eight consecutive month in February coming in at 6%, down from 6.4% in January and a peak of 9.1% in June last year. The underlying – or core – rate, which excludes food and energy prices, edged down to 5.5% last month from 5.6% in January, with the pace of decline having slowed over the past couple of months compared to the fall that occurred over the final three months of 2022

Economic data due today includes industrial production in the Euro area and retail sales and producer prices in the US, while the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the UK presents his Budget to Parliament, which may contain some cost of living relief for households