News

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 […]

New annual housing targets that will be significantly higher than the current figures are set to be published after the Budget in October. The figures will consider new research from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) on population and housing demand due to be published this month. It is expected to say that between […]

Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien will seek Government approval to expand the local authority home loan for first-time buyers. The loan is currently only available for homes that are habitable and does not cover renovation costs. The Cabinet is expected to give the green light to a new local authority purchase and renovation loan, which […]

Euro zone business activity expanded at its quickest rate in a year in May as growth in the bloc’s dominant services industry outpaced contraction in manufacturing, according to a private survey, which also showed price pressures easing. HCOB’s composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the currency union, compiled by S&P Global and seen as a […]