Bad news out of the U.K. as the March CPI report had inflation staying above 10%, according to the Office for National Statistics.
- The Consumer Prices Index slowed to 10.1% in March, down from 10.4% in February but higher than economist predictions of 9.8%.
- Like in the U.S., the largest upward contributions to the annual inflation rate came from housing and household services (principally from electricity, gas and other fuels), and food and non-alcoholic beverages.
The Euro Area, on the other hand, saw inflation fall as expected. The annual inflation rate in the Euro Area slowed to 6.9% in March, down for a fifth consecutive month and now at the lowest level since February 2022.
- Equity markets are down across the board in Europe with London’s FTSE leading the way with a 32-point dip, or 0.41%, followed by Germany and France down 0.28% and 0.20%, respectively.