Last week, global markets watched inflation in the UK, growth in Germany, and the minutes of the Fed's FOMC meeting dated April 30-May 1 in the USA.
- While the consumer price index in the UK increased by 0.3% monthly in April, annual inflation, which was 3.2% in March, decreased to 2.3% in April.
- While the German economy grew by 0.2% in the first quarter of the year compared to the previous quarter, it shrank by 0.2% compared to the same quarter last year.
- In the minutes of the 30 April-1 May meeting of the US Federal Reserve (Fed), it was stated that officials observed that although inflation slowed down last year, the Committee had difficulty advancing to the 2% target in the last few months, and that gaining more confidence in inflation would take longer than expected. Some participants stated that an interest rate increase would be appropriate if inflation risks emerged. While the minutes show that all officials support the balance sheet reduction process, a few officials stated that they may support the balance sheet reduction amount to remain at previous levels. Global markets followed a mixed course throughout the week. The ounce of gold decreased with the Fed minutes and US oil reserves data.
