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There were subdued business conditions across the Irish manufacturing sector, according to the latest AIB Manufacturing Index. December data showed a sustained reduction in new orders which contributed to the fastest decline in production volumes since June. At 49.1 in December, down from 49.9 in November, the seasonally adjusted index posted below the 50.0 no-change…

House prices nationally rose by an average of 9% during 2024, according to the latest house price report by Daft.ie. The typical listed price nationwide in the final quarter of 2024 was €332,109, 1.4% higher than in the third quarter of the year and 30% higher than at the onset of the pandemic. Prices rose…

Consumer prices rose by 1% in the year to December, double the rate of 0.5% recorded in November, a flash estimate of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) from the Central Statistics Office showed today. December HICP growth was the highest since August, when it reached 1.1%. Today’s CSO estimates show that energy prices…

The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates, as expected, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell said more reductions in borrowing costs now hinge on further progress in lowering stubbornly high inflation. His latest remarks showed that policymakers are starting to reckon with the prospects for sweeping economic changes under a Trump administration. Powell’s explicit –…

Black Friday sales are an established part of the Irish retail calendar, as demonstrated by a Bank of Ireland report which shows spending by its customers on the day was up 6.8% on last year. Overall spending in the month of November was up 5.6% compared to the same month in 2023. The report found…

Property prices are continuing to increase and are up 9.7% in the 12 months to October, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office. Prices in Dublin were up 10.4%. while the cost of buying a home outside the capital rose 9.2%. The figures come a week after the Economic and Social Research…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show an annual decrease of 10.9% in the total number of dwelling units approved in the third quarter of this year, with the number falling to 8,611 units from 9,662 units the same time last year. The CSO said that houses accounted for 61% of all homes granted…

Holyhead Port is to remain closed until 15 January at the earliest, it has been announced. All ferry services between Dublin and Holyhead are cancelled until this time. In a statement, the port said the closure follows damage to the Terminal 3 berth on 6 December, during Storm Darragh. It acknowledged that the closure of…

A single person would need a pension of €33,600 a year, and a couple would need €43,200 a year, in order to have a “comfortable” retirement. The figures are contained in a new report on Irish retirement living standards released by the Pensions Council which was prepared and researched by KPMG. It shows that for…

Europe’s labour market softened in the third quarter, data releases showed today, pointing to a further decline in inflation pressures that could justify more interest rate cuts. The rise in euro zone labour costs slowed to 4.6% in the third quarter from 5.2% three months earlier while the jobs vacancy rate slipped to 2.5% from…