Archive for March 2025

The national commercial vacancy rate has reached its highest level on record at 14.5%, according to the latest GeoDirectory Commercial Buildings Report. The report, prepared by EY, shows the rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 14.5% in the last quarter of 2024, which is the highest level recorded by GeoDirectory since it began tracking…

The Central Bank has reduced its forecast for economic growth for this year due to rising uncertainty caused by the trade war between the US and EU. It says the domestic economy will grow by 2.7% which is 0.5% lower than its last projection. The bank also said fewer homes will be built over the…

The National Treasury Management Agency will seek to raise €1 billion in nine and 12-year debt in its first bond auction of the year on Thursday, the National Treasury Management Agency said. Ireland has a relatively limited borrowing requirement this year due to its large cash balances and forecast budget surplus. It plans to issue…

There was an 81% surge in Irish exports to the US in January compared with the same month a year earlier, according to the Central Statistics Office. Total medical and pharmaceutical products sold abroad grew by 68%, today’s CSO figures show. There have been anecdotal indications that some companies could be stockpiling goods in the…

Gold pierced through the psychological milestone of $3,000 an ounce today for the first time, building on an historic rally as trade tensions and US rate cut bets supercharge its appeal as a safe store of value. Spot gold was up 0.3% at $2,997.75 an ounce in mid-morning trade after hitting a record high of…

Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has said he will lead a “full trade mission to the United States” next month. It comes after US President Donald Trump increased tariffs on certain EU goods and threatened further action. Mr Trump threatened to impose a 200% tariff on wine, cognac and other alcohol imports from Europe, after…

Euro zone banks need to get into the habit of tapping the European Central Banks for cash, preparing for the continued decline in excess liquidity in the banking system, two top ECB officials said in a blog post today. Banks still sit on almost €3 trillion of excess liquidity, created by the ECB over the…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office shows that inflation eased to an annual rate of 1.8% in February from a rate of 1.9% in January. Today’s figures show that prices in restaurants and hotels rose by 3.1% mainly due to higher prices for alcoholic drinks and food consumed in licensed premises, restaurants and cafes,…

A new report by Microsoft and Trinity College Dublin is projecting that the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) could add €250 billion to Ireland’s economy, as measured by GDP, within 10 years. The AI Economy in Ireland 2025 report found that AI adoption is expected to increase Ireland’s Gross National Income (GNI) by at least…

The latest AIB Spend Trend report shows that Storm Éowyn led to an exceptionally quiet day for spending on Friday 24 January. AIB said the number of in-store transactions was down 38% compared with an average day. But after the storm, spending in hardware stores was up 8% in February, with significant increases seen in…