Macroeconomic data, trends, and policy developments.
Coverage of key economic indicators, central bank policy decisions, inflation trends, labor data, and growth signals. This category focuses on the macroeconomic forces that shape markets, interest rates, and long-term capital allocation.
2,687 total articles
Goldman Sachs reports a marked decline in UAE real estate transaction activity since the onset of the current Middle East conflict. Data for early March show overall transaction values down 31% year over year and 51% month over month since the conflict began, with particularly large falls in the secondary market, villa sales and off-plan apartment …
U.S. stock index futures moved higher on Monday, lifted by gains in large technology stocks including Meta and Nvidia, even as crude oil prices settled around $100 a barrel due to disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz. Investors entered a week heavy with central bank meetings, corporate results and an Nvidia developer conference, while futures mark…
Iran's foreign minister and a ministry spokesperson said Tehran has not sought a ceasefire in the current hostilities with Israel and the U.S., and that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed only to adversaries and their supporters. Officials added that vessels from countries not engaged in the fighting have been allowed to transit with coordination …
Nearly all economists polled expect the Swiss National Bank to leave its policy rate at 0% through 2026 and use foreign exchange interventions rather than negative interest rates to counter further appreciation of the Swiss franc, which has strengthened amid safe-haven flows since the onset of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Markets enter a new trading week with the conflict involving Iran remaining the dominant story as disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz push oil and gas prices higher. Investors will also focus on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's keynote at the company's developer event, Micron's quarterly results, and monetary policy decisions from the Federal Reserve and …
European authorities are expected to move first by cutting taxes on transport fuels in response to a recent spike in oil and short-dated gas prices. Citi Research economists say such steps would be the immediate fiscal response, with more expansive measures possible if elevated energy costs persist and household utility bills begin to rise sharply.
Federal Reserve officials convene amid rising oil prices and escalating hostilities involving Iran, a crisis that has temporarily sidelined roughly one-fifth of global oil flows. With inflation already about a percentage point above the Fed's 2% target and oil jumping nearly 50% in two weeks, officials must determine whether to maintain a tight sta…
The European Central Bank meets on Thursday amid fresh volatility in oil and gas markets driven by the conflict in the Middle East. With oil up sharply since the conflict began and European gas prices jumping this month, policymakers face uncertainty over whether the spike will produce a persistent inflation shock or a more pronounced growth drag. …
U.S. futures rose Monday as investors assessed the persistence of the U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran, now entering its third week. The conflict has pushed oil prices higher and heightened inflation worries, while attention is also fixed on Nvidia's annual developer conference and a key Federal Reserve policy decision later this week. The confluence o…
Barclays Research has trimmed its euro area growth outlook for 2026 to 1.1% from 1.5% in 2025, citing the impact of the Middle East conflict and tighter financial conditions. The bank expects the European Central Bank to keep its deposit rate at 2% at the March 19 meeting, and it now forecasts headline inflation at 2.4% this year before easing to 2…
European equities made modest gains on Monday as Commerzbank shares climbed following a 30% stake bid from UniCredit. Defence and energy stocks rose amid escalating Middle East tensions and concerns over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Investors are also watching a week of central bank meetings in major economies for guidance on interest-rat…
Citigroup trimmed its Nifty 50 valuation multiple to 19 times one-year forward earnings from 20 times and set a December 2026 Nifty target of 27,000. The bank cautioned that a second-week Middle East conflict centered on a Strait of Hormuz blockade - with ship traffic falling as much as 90% - risks shaving up to 30 basis points from India’s economi…
Barclays economists say recent U.S. data show weaker demand late last year but signs of resilience entering 2026. Persistent core inflation and upside risks from oil and geopolitics lead the bank to expect the Federal Reserve to keep rates steady at its upcoming meeting and to delay the first rate cut until September 2026.
Citi now expects the Bank of England to keep the Bank Rate unchanged at 3.75% at this week's Monetary Policy Committee meeting, removing an April cut from its previous path. The bank has pushed its terminal rate forecast to 3.25% with cuts pencilled in for June and September, citing rising uncertainty from a fresh energy shock linked to conflict in…
Rising energy prices tied to the war in the Middle East are forcing central banks worldwide to reassess the outlook for inflation and interest rates. Policymakers from the United States to Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia and emerging markets enter a week of meetings with markets increasingly uncertain about the path of policy after oil held above …
Once a leading refuge for investors, the Japanese yen has struggled to appreciate during the recent conflict involving the U.S. and Israel against Iran. Structural shifts in Japan’s economy, exposure to oil shocks, and changing interest-rate dynamics have diminished the yen’s automatic safe-haven appeal, leaving markets to probe whether authorities…
The Bank of England is set to delay a planned reduction in Bank Rate as policymakers weigh the inflationary risks from the conflict in the Middle East. With oil near $100 a barrel and gas prices elevated, the Monetary Policy Committee is widely expected to vote to keep Bank Rate at 3.75% at its March meeting. Economists now see inflation ending 202…
The Strait of Hormuz remains the focal point of Asian trading, with initial claims of a forthcoming multinational naval escort agreement giving way to reports that President Trump has only spoken to seven countries and secured no commitments. Concerns over the strait's effective throttling have prompted export controls on refined fuels across sever…
The Bank of Japan is expected to leave short-term interest rates unchanged at 0.75% at the close of a two-day policy meeting, while reiterating a bias toward additional rate increases. A weaker yen and an abrupt surge in oil following the U.S.-Israel war on Iran have intensified inflationary risks for Japan's import-dependent economy, complicating …
Markets widely expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise its cash rate by 25 basis points at the end of a two-day meeting on March 17, taking the cash rate to 4.10% after February's increase. Forecasters point to resurgent consumer inflation, a strong domestic economy and energy-market pressures linked to the U.S.-Israel war on Iran as drivers …
Economists polled expect Taiwan’s central bank to keep its policy interest rate at 2% at its upcoming quarterly meeting and to maintain that stance into at least the second quarter of 2027. Robust economic expansion, led by the technology and export sectors and supported by demand tied to artificial intelligence, has reduced near-term pressure to t…
The dollar remained close to a 10-month peak as markets entered a week dense with central bank policy meetings, including the Fed, ECB, BoE and BoJ. Traders are focused on how the Middle East conflict and higher oil prices could influence inflation and growth, while risk dynamics ripple across currencies such as the euro, sterling, the yen and anti…
President Donald Trump said discussions are under way with other countries to cooperate in keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, while Iran maintains the blockade in response to U.S. and Israeli attacks. Trump described the effort as modest in scope, repeated calls for China to act, and said U.S. strikes have degraded Iran's drone capabilities. Oil ma…
President Donald Trump told the Financial Times he could delay a planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping as he pushes Beijing to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz after Tehran effectively blocked the waterway amid recent hostilities. The comments followed high-level U.S.-China talks in Paris and come as Iran signaled it will keep the strait…
The U.S. administration plans to reveal as soon as this week that several countries have agreed to form a naval escort coalition to protect commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. officials. The move follows significant disruption to tanker traffic in the waterway during ongoing hostilities involving Iran and comes as …
