Please see this weeks Weekly Market Update from Blackfinch:
UK COMMENTARY
- According to consumer price index data reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), UK inflation rose to 7% in March, up from 6.2% in February, as living standards continued to be squeezed. March’s reading was the highest in three decades.
- The ONS also announced the UK unemployment rate dropped to 3.8% in the three months to February, according to its latest labour force survey. This was the lowest rate since October-December 2019, just before COVID-19 hit the economy.
- The ONS also confirmed UK house prices have continued to surge. The average house price increased by 10.9% over the year to February 2022, up from 10.2% in January 2022. Private rental prices paid by UK tenants increased by 2.4% in the 12 months to March 2022, the highest annual growth rate since July 2016.
- UK factories have been hit by surging raw material costs, and continued to lift their own prices. The ONS reported that input costs paid by producers rose 19.2% in the year to March, the highest rate since records began in January 1997.
- The cost-of-living squeeze on UK workers continued as wages failed to keep pace with prices. Regular pay shrank in the three months to February, with basic earnings up only 4%, significantly below February’s inflation reading of 6.2%.
NORTH AMERICA COMMENTARY
- In the US, CPI inflation Index rose 8.5% over the year to the end of March, the highest rate since 1981.
- There were 185,000 new claims for US unemployment support, a rise of 18,000 on the previous week when initial claims hit their lowest since 1968.
- According to the US Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 1% last week, but were 6% lower than the same week a year ago. With borrowing costs up, applications to refinance a home loan fell 5% week-on-week, and were 62% lower than a year ago.
- The Bank of Canada (BoC) increased its overnight interest rate by 50 basis points, from 0.5% to 1%, after citing price spikes in oil, natural gas and other commodities, as well as supply chain disruptions. The BoC said it expects the annual inflation rate to average almost 6% in the first half of this year, well above its 1%-3% annual target.
GLOBAL COMMENTARY
- Annual inflation in Russia accelerated to 17.49% as of 8th April, its highest since February 2002 and up from 16.70% a week earlier, according to its economy ministry.
The ever-changing world we live in reinforces the importance of regular up-to-date communication. This weekly news update from the multi-asset portfolio managers at Blackfinch provides you with a summary of global events.
Andrew Lloyd DipPFS
20/04/2022