Charting the global economy: Europe inflation picks up before ECB meeting
Inflation in Europe accelerated by more than forecast in May, but the European Central Bank is still expected to start cutting interest rates next week.
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Consumer prices rose 2.6% from a year ago, up from 2.4% in April, according to Eurostat. A measure stripping out volatile components like food and energy also surpassed expectations. While money markets still see a quarter-point cut at the June 6 ECB meeting, they pared wagers on reductions beyond that.
In the US, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of underlying inflation moderated in April and consumers dialed back their spending, supporting plans for an eventual reduction in interest rates. Swaps traders still expect the Fed to cut rates at least once this year.
Here are some of the charts that appeared on Bloomberg this week on the latest developments in the global economy, markets and geopolitics:
Europe
Euro-area inflation accelerated more than anticipated, further clouding the outlook for ECB interest rates after next week’s planned cut. They’re nevertheless set to reduce the deposit rate from its current record high of 4% on June 6 — moving before either the Fed or the Bank of England.
Sweden’s economy exceeded forecasts in the first quarter by expanding at the fastest clip in almost two years — helped mainly by higher inventories — as the Nordic country’s prospects are brightening with its central bank having started interest-rate cuts. Output for the three previous quarters
