Archive for June 2024

Ireland’s approach to the enforcement of building regulations requires a cultural shift, according to the new President of the Society of Chartered Surveyors. Kevin Hollingsworth called for a new proactive approach by local authorities, which he said must be backed by exchequer funding. Currently, local authorities are required to only inspect between 12 and 15%…

Oil prices traded lower today, as investors waited for key US and China CPI data as well as the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting to glean a clearer picture of where inflation is heading and how that will affect fuel demand. Brent crude futures fell 13 cents, or 0.16%, to $81.50 per barrel…

The euro fell sharply today, hit by political uncertainty after gains by the far-right in voting for the European Parliament on Sunday prompted a bruised French President Emmanuel Macron to call a snap national election. The uncertainty in France adds one more element to what will be a busy week for markets with crucial US…

Housing commencements remain on an upward trend, according to BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland, with continued increases in construction activity across key residential segments. The construction activity index posted fractionally below the 50.0 no-change mark in May to signal broadly stable output in the sector midway through the second quarter. The reading was down from…

The United Nations world food price index rose for a third consecutive month in May, as higher cereals and dairy product prices outweighed drops in prices for sugar and vegetable oils. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 120.4 points in May, up 0.9% from…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the unemployment rate for May was 4%, unchanged from the previous month. On an annual basis, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4% in May from a revised rate of 4.2% the same time last year. The seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed was 111,700…

European Central Bank policymakers warned today that the final stage of pushing inflation down to 2% could be especially hard but said they were confident that policy was working as intended, while some even saw room to ease policy further in 2024. The ECB cut interest rates from record highs on Thursday in a long-telegraphed…

Almost half of people in Ireland expect their 60s to be the most expensive time of their retirement, new data shows. The survey carried out by Royal London Ireland reveals that 38% believe they will need the most money in their 70s, while just 17% think their 80s and 90s will be the costliest time.…

The European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to agree a quarter of a percent cut in interest rates at its meeting in Frankfurt. It will come after ten interest rate hikes since July 2022. The monthly mortgage payment is generally the most significant household expenditure for homeowners in Ireland. It is a payment that has…

The pace of growth in the service sector accelerated in May, new data shows. The latest AIB Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reveals that the index increased from 53.3 in April, to 55 last month. Readings above 50 indicate overall growth in activity. The pace of expansion was the strongest reading since March and broadly in…