Market Update – 26th March 2025.

This morning, UK headline CPI reading slowed from 3.0% in January to 2.8% in February, while core CPI inflation, which excludes volatile items such as food and energy, slowed to 3.5% from 3.7%.

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Week ending 21st March 2025.

As you can see, markets broadly closed the week higher, with interest rate decisions taking centre stage. Investors got a boost Wednesday as the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at 4.25%-4.5% and signalled confidence in short-term stability. In response, US stocks rallied, closing higher as the Fed met expectations.

Market Update – 19th March 2025.

China’s economy showed promising signs in early 2025, with retail sales rising 4%, driven by the government’s strong efforts to boost domestic consumption and mitigate trade tensions with the US. Industrial production also grew by 5.9%, and fixed asset investment exceeded expectations with a 4.1% increase, adding a positive momentum to the outlook.

Week ending 14th March 2025.

It’s been another week full of trade rhetoric. Mid-week, the US imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. The duties were announced in mid-February as stock market investors cheered President Trump’s ‘America first’ agenda which saw only Mexico, Canada, and China come under initial pressure.

Market Update – 12th March 2025.

On Friday, Chinese policymakers lowered their inflation target to around 2%. By Monday, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that February’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) had fallen 0.7% year over year, with core inflation—excluding food and energy—declining by 0.1% last month.