A decline in the numbers of people looking to switch mortgage provider or move home led to a decline in mortgage approvals in April, according to Banking and Payments Federation Ireland. There were a total of 3,899 mortgages approved in the month, down 13.7% on a monthly basis and 9.4% lower year-on-year. First time buyers…

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank is meeting in Frankfurt today where it’s widely expected to increase interest rates by another quarter of one percent. This would bring the ECB’s base deposit rate to 3.5%. Various members of the ECB’s Governing Council have made clear in recent weeks that interest rates will go…

Oil rebounded today after the previous day’s plunge, as data showed a jump in refinery runs at the world’s top crude importer China, though a weak economic backdrop capped gains. Brent crude futures rose 39 cents, or 0.6%, to $73.59 a barrel by 0630 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 39 cents, or…

Residential property prices nationally rose in April by 3.6% on an annual basis, according to the CSO. This compares to an annual rate of 4% in March. Prices nationally were static over the course of April. Prices have been falling slowly in Dublin since October. They are down 2% over the past three months but…

AIB and EBS have increased their interest rates on a number of deposit accounts to 2%. The 2% rate will apply to its regular online saver, its AIB Junior and Student saver and the EBS Family saver accounts. But it will only apply to the first €1,000 per month for 12 months. After this period,…

The US Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates unchanged today for the first time since the US central bank kicked off a historically aggressive round of monetary policy tightening in March last year. Many analysts and investors are calling it ‘a skip’ as they expect the Fed will skip a hike this time….

Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said Ireland is a “technology-centred economy” with a need for further data centres. He was responding to reports of concern over a surge in energy use by data centres. Yesterday, the CSO said data centres increased their power consumption by 31% and now account for 18% of electricity used. This industry…

Returns to farmers for their produce have fallen overall from March to April this year, according to the latest figures from the CSO. Output prices for produce fell 2.2%, heralding a general decline in returns to most farmers. Dairy farmers in particular experienced a price fall 8.6% in the month, as processors have pulled back…

Wind generated just 23% of Ireland’s electricity in May, with calm conditions leading to a 38% drop in generation when compared to April. New figures from Gas Networks Ireland show that gas generated 57% of Ireland’s electricity last month, up 21% month-on-month. Gas has been the highest contributor to Ireland’s electricity generating system for the…

The Government is being urged to use October’s Budget to tackle energy poverty and break Ireland’s dependence on fossil fuels for home heating. A cross-section of social, environmental and voluntary organisations issued the call ahead of the National Economic Dialogue, which takes place in Dublin Castle today. The conference will see Government leaders, charities, trade…