Commerzbank’s Jörg Krämer expects the ECB to react to war‑driven energy inflation with at most one additional rate hike. Inflation is projected to rise above 3% by summer before easing, while Eurozone growth is revised down to 0.6% in 2026.
Brown Brothers Harriman’s (BBH) Elias Haddad reports that Japanese officials are escalating verbal intervention as USD/JPY approaches 160.00, a potential line in the sand.
The Indian Rupee (INR) extends opening losses against the US Dollar (USD) in afternoon trading hours in India on Friday .
Ireland Retail Sales (YoY) declined to 0.8% in February from previous 3%
Ireland Retail Sales (MoM) fell from previous 1.5% to -0.8% in February
Gold price (XAU/USD) trades over 1% higher at around $4,450 during the European trading session on Friday.
TD Securities analysts note United Kingdom (UK) Retail Sales for February beat expectations, showing only slight mean reversion after strong gains and maintaining a positive three‑month trend. Weather-related weakness was broad but not fundamentally alarming.
The Euro (EUR) is trading lower against the US Dollar (USD) for the fourth consecutive day on Friday, changing hands at 1.1520 at the time of writing, down from weekly highs of 1.1640 on Monday.
Italy 10-y Bond Auction increased to 4.09% from previous 3.31%
Italy 5-y Bond Auction: 3.48% vs 2.62%
Former Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said in an interview with the Asahi newspaper that the central bank should continue pushing the monetary policy towards normalization.
Nordea’s Jan von Gerich notes that despite intense Middle East headlines and large market swings, Oil has not broken to new highs in recent weeks, while German yields have surged and equities weakened.
