Weekly Market Analysis / 15-19 May 2023

We left behind a week in which German and US inflation data and the Bank of England's (BoE) interest rate decision were followed. In Germany, consumer price index increased by 0.4% monthly in April, while annual inflation decreased to 7.2% due to the fall in energy prices. While the consumer price index in the USA increased by 0.4% monthly in April in line with the expectations, annual inflation was realized as 4.9%, below the expectations. Consumer prices excluding food and energy rose 0.4% month on month and 5.5% year on year in April. The Bank of England (BoE), at its meeting on Thursday, increased the policy rate by 25 basis points, in line with expectations, to 4.50%. In this case, the BoE has increased the policy rate to the highest level since 2008, and announced that additional increases may be needed if inflationary pressures continue. Global markets struggled to determine direction throughout the week. While gold is priced above $2.040 an ounce, it has retreated to $2.015 band.