Market Information Friday 29 October 2021

Yesterday, the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to maintain its current monetary policy. The motivation for this decision is primarily related to the fact that the ECB identifies other reasons for rising inflation than its own policy. The ECB identifies three factors; the imbalance between supply and demand caused by the rebound of the economy, the increasing energy prices and the higher VAT in Germany. The ECB expects the effects of these factors to fade in early 2022 and inflation to return to the desired 2.0%. In August and September, the annualized inflation rate was 3.0% and 3.4% respectively, and analysts expect an annualized inflation rate of 3.7% for October. The actual figure will be announced today.

Between October 16 and 23, 281,000 initial jobless claims were filed in the United States. Economists were expecting 289,000 new applications, but the number unexpectedly fell by 9,000 from a week earlier. The number of applications thus reached its lowest point since March 14, 2020. The four-week moving average also fell to its lowest point since March 2020, at 299,250.

Pending home sales in the United States have fallen, and as a result, the U.S. housing market appears to be slowing somewhat. The index for upcoming sales is issued by the American real estate association NAR and is based on signed purchase contracts. In September, the number of signed contracts fell by 2.3% month-on-month and 8.0% year-on-year.

The 6M Euribor decreased with 1 basis point to -0.54% compared to previous business day. The 10Y Swap increased with 5 basis points to 0.25% compared to previous business day.

In the attachment, today’s market data on money and capital market rates as well as other rates are presented.