DAVY VIEW

Ongoing traffic and fuel disruptions in Ireland over the past week appear certain to reduce economic growth in the second quarter, despite the Government trebling its package of business and household supports over the weekend. This week sees February data for UK GDP along with Irish residential property prices, goods exports and imports, and employee payrolls. We expect annual UK GDP growth will weaken further below 1% and Irish three-month payrolls growth to increase above 2%. Last week, early US consumer sentiment data for April plunged to a record low, while March consumer prices increased rapidly due to energy.