Weekly Market Review – 18th March 2024

In the US ahead of the FED interest rate meeting next week, new inflation data was released for February, coming in higher at 3.2% year over year versus 3.1% forecast. In Europe a historic week where the world’s first major act to regulate AI was passed by the European Parliament. In the UK a better than expected GDP figures for January, indicated a return to growth for the UK economy into 2024. In Ireland continued progress on the downward rate of inflation, slowing to 3.4% in February from 4.1% in January. In Asia-Pacific we saw a focus on TikTok and the possibility of being banned in the US over national security concerns.