FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Market Chatter: ECB to Reportedly Hold Rates Steady in April Meeting Amid Ongoing Iran War

By

European Central Bank policymakers are inclined to leave interest rates unchanged in April, opting to wait for clarity on the economic impact of the ongoing Middle East conflict, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday.

Citing people familiar with the discussion, the news outlet said ECB officials believe current financing conditions are anchoring inflation expectations, rendering a rate hike announcement during the April 29 to April 30 meeting unnecessary for now. The war-driven spike in energy prices sent annual inflation higher to 2.5% across the 21-nation bloc in March.

ECB did not immediately respond to a request for comment from.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

Related Articles

International

Employment Growth Trend in Australia Was Positive Before Middle East Conflict Started, Westpac Says

The March labor force data in Australia was broadly in line with expectations, and the trend for employment growth was turning more positive before the onset of the Middle East conflict, Westpac said in a note on Thursday.The lender cautioned that it is too early to expect flow-on effects from the Middle East conflict or from recent interest rate rises to be appearing in labor market measures. The data instead gives a picture of the starting point for the labor market before these forces impact.Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 4.3% in March, unchanged from the previous month, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed. The total number of employed people increased by 17,900, bringing the total to 14.8 million. Westpac's forecast for employment was 25,000.The data provided clarity that lower unemployment rates around the turn of the year were a result of temporarily weaker participation, not a sustained re-tightening, per the note.The bank's baseline forecast assumes an eight-week closure of the Strait of Hormuz and a gradual recovery in shipping and transit afterwards. In such a case, trimmed mean inflation is expected to peak at around 4% on an annual basis in the second half, and the central bank is expected deliver three more rate hikes in May, June, and August.The labor market is likely to be a "lagging indicator" of the economy, and any flow-through from higher fuel prices or global uncertainty is more likely to show up later in the year, Westpac added. It forecast the unemployment rate to lift to a quarter-average of 4.9% and stay around that level over 2027 as interest rate rises impact.

ASX 200
International

China's Economy Expands 5% in Q1

China's gross domestic product in the first quarter rose 5%, according to Thursday data from the National Bureau of Statistics.The official data beat the 4.8% growth forecasted by Reuters-surveyed analysts.The data was attributed to an acceleration in the growth of the country's production and supply and improving market demand, as well as a rebound in market prices and stable employment.

Shanghai Composite^SZSE
International

China Logs 1.7% Rise in Q1 Fixed Asset Investment

China's fixed asset investment rose 1.7% year over year to 10.3 trillion yuan in the first three months of the year.Private fixed asset investment decreased 2.2%, according to a Thursday news release by the National Bureau of Statistics.Industrial investment climbed 5.8%, while infrastructure investment increased 8.9%.On a monthly basis, fixed asset investment, excluding rural households, increased 0.5% in March.

Shanghai Composite^SZSE