In his two-session testimony to Congress last week, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell rattled the markets when he described how the Fed could change its interest rate forecast when it meets later this month, but he said he was not going to “prejudge”. Investors interpreted his comments as hawkish regarding interest rates.

The financial markets widely expect the Fed to raise rates three times this year, but are now considering the possibility of a fourth hike. Mr Powell said he expected further hikes to be likely, as unemployment continues to fall and inflation moves closer to the Fed’s two per cent target. The central bank chief said he sees no signs the US economy is overheating, even as the outlook for growth strengthens and the labour market tightens.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in the eurozone remained unchanged in January, data published by Eurostat showed. The jobless rate held steady at 8.6 per cent in January compared to December, but down from 9.6 per cent registered in January of last year.

This was the lowest unemployment rate recorded in the common currency bloc since December 2008. The rate for December was revised down from 8.7 per cent.

On the other hand, in the 28 nations that make up the European Union, the unemployment rate was 7.3 per cent in January, unchanged from December 2017. This was the lowest unemployment rate reported in the region since October 2008.

Finally, house prices in the UK fell for the first time in six months in February, according to data from Nationwide Building Society. Nationwide’s index shows that a 0.3 per cent month-on-month fall took the average UK house price to £210,402, down from £211,756 in January. Prices were expected to rise by 0.1 per cent after registering a 0.8 per cent increase.

The dip came after house prices increased more than expected in January, due to a lack of supply in the property market which kept competition between buyers high. On an annual basis, house prices climbed 2.2 per cent in February, weaker than January’s 3.2 per cent increase.

This was the slowest since August, when prices grew by 2.1 per cent.

This report was compiled by Bank of Valletta for general information purposes only.