The downgrade of US government debt by a credit rating agency has been a big driver of this week’s financial market gyrations. The decision by the Bank of England to lift policy rates by 25bps (with hints of more to follow) coupled with firmer-than-expected private sector payrolls data from the US also served as a reminder that central banks may not yet have completed their tightening cycles. In our charts this week we look at:
· The central bank consensus
· US financial market conditions
· Service sector inflation in the euro area and US
· Global economic policy uncertainty
· World trade and commodity market activity
· Rice prices
