6.3 million foreign visitors came to Ireland last year – CSO
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that 6.3 million foreign visitors departed Ireland on overseas routes in 2023. Overall, the visitors spent €7.3 billion on their trips. Of this €1.9 billion was spent on fares, €0.3 billion on prepayments – including car hire, pre-booked tickets and other non-accommodation items paid for in advance […]
NAMA on track to wind down by the end of 2025
The National Asset Management Agency remains on track to wind down completely by the end of next year. But the Minister for Finance Michael McGrath has confirmed that “some residual assets will remain unresolved” after the end of 2025, and that he will be proposing a new bill to ensure the NTMA manages these assets […]
Oil prices stable as demand uncertainty persists
Oil prices were stable today, as traders awaited signs of a hoped-for summer demand boost to prop up prices even as strong supply threatens to blunt gains. Benchmark Brent crude futures were down two cents to $84.23 per barrel this afternoon after climbing in the previous session. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures which also […]
Dublin fourth most expensive city in Europe to build – survey
Dublin is the fourth most expensive city in Europe to build, a new survey shows today, while it also makes it into the top 25 most expensive places to build globally. The International Construction Market Survey 2024 Report, from global professional services company Turner & Townsend, shows that Switzerland remains the most expensive country to […]
ECB set to cut rates in September and December – poll
The European Central Bank will cut its deposit rate twice more this year, in September and December, according to a significant majority of economists polled by Reuters who said the risks were skewed towards fewer rate cuts than expected. That outlook was broadly unchanged from a survey conducted before the ECB delivered its widely telegraphed […]
ECB’s Lane confident euro zone inflation will hit 2% in 2025
The European Central Bank’s chief economist said today he remained confident inflation will fall back to the ECB’s 2% target in 2025 after four years of unusually brisk price growth following the Covid pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker interview, Philip Lane also played down the need for the ECB […]
IMF calls for stronger social safety net to ‘broaden’ gains from AI
Fiscal policy has a “major role to play” in broadening the financial gains from generative AI technology and preventing a spike in wealth inequality, the IMF today. Left unchecked, generative artificial intelligence (AI) threatens to amplify job losses among white collar professions, International Monetary Fund staff wrote in a new paper. The technology forms the […]
Central Bank lowers growth forecast for domestic economy
The Central Bank has reduced its forecasts for economic growth this year. In its latest Quarterly Bulletin, the bank predicts that Modified Domestic Demand will expand by 2.1% in 2024, down from its forecast in March of 2.2%. It has also cut its forecast for Gross Domestic Product to 1.8%, down from its previous projection […]
Almost 50% would refuse job offer with no remote work option – survey
Nearly half of Irish jobseekers would refuse a job offer if there were no hybrid or fully remote working options offered, according to new research from The Stepstone Group, the parent company of jobs website IrishJobs. This compares to a global average of 29%. The study found that 61% of jobseekers would turn down an […]
Services inflation needs to come down this year – ECB’s Lane
The European Central Bank needs to see momentum in services inflation come down this year in order to confirm its disinflation narrative, the ECB’s chief economist said today, adding it will not have much new information by its July meeting. “It’s fair to say momentum at the start of the year in services was relatively […]
Dublin ranked 41st most expensive city for international workers
Dublin ranks as the 41st most expensive city in the world for international employees, the 2024 Cost of Living City Ranking survey from Mercer shows, ten places higher than last year. This means that Dublin is more expensive than cities like Edinburgh, Milan, Rome and Madrid, but it is still behind major European cities like […]
Consumer behaviour shifting due to rising costs
Cost of living pressures continue to top the agenda for consumers, new data shows. The latest Future Consumer Index from EY tracks changing consumer sentiment and behaviours right across the world. 23,000 consumers were surveyed across 30 countries, including here in Ireland. It found that 62% of Irish households, and 55% of global households are […]
Consumer prices rose by 2.6% over the 12 months to May
Consumer prices for goods and services rose by 2.6% over the 12 months to May. The figures from the Central Statistics Office show that when energy and unprocessed food are excluded, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) went up by 3.5%. The largest increases in the year to May were recorded in the transport sector, followed […]
Household savings rate increases to 14.7%
The savings rate among households increased to 14.7% between January and March. New data from the Central Statistics Offices shows that households saved €8.1bn during the three month period, before adjusting for seasonality or inflation. The CSO noted that the first quarter of the year tends to have higher savings, as consumption is lower after […]
Fed leaves rates unchanged, sees only one 2024 cut despite inflation progress
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady yesterday and pushed out the start of rate cuts to perhaps as late as December as policymakers sketched out their view of an economy that remains virtually unchanged across its major dimensions for years to come. With growth and unemployment lodged at levels better than the US central […]
Oil slips on US growth worries, ample crude supply
Oil prices fell in early trade today, as investors digested that the US Federal Reserve had likely pushed back a possible interest rate cut to December, while ample US crude and fuel stocks also weighed on the market. Brent crude futures lost 23 cents, or 0.3%, to $82.37 a barrel, as of 0415 GMT, and […]
New EV sales down 20% so far this year, CSO data shows
The number of new electric cars sold in the first five months of the year dropped by 20% compared with the same time last year, new data shows. The figures from the Central Statistics Office show that 9,458 new EVs were licensed between January and May, down from 11,918 during the same period in 2023. […]
Irish mortgage rates drop slightly in April, Central Bank data shows
Irish mortgage rates dropped slightly in April, new data from the Central Bank of Ireland shows. The average interest rate on a new mortgage was 4.24%, down 0.07 percentage points compared to March. This meant Ireland had the seventh highest rates in the Eurozone, an improvement of one place on the previous month. The Eurozone […]