Trade, City of London, sterling and EU markets
The International Monetary Fund has advised the Bank of England not to raise interest rates this year, despite the inflationary pressures from the Iran conflict. Holding the Bank Rate at 3.75% should be sufficient to bring inflation back to target by end-2027, the Fund concluded in its latest UK Article IV consultation.
European Parliament has moved this week to tighten the EU’s foreign investment screening regime, addressing growing concerns about strategic acquisitions in defence, semiconductors, AI and critical raw materials by non-EU investors with state backing.
The European Parliament has placed the question of joint EU medicines procurement at the centre of its May plenary, as pressure from Washington and Beijing on pharmaceutical supply chains reaches what liberals describe as a decisive moment for the Union’s negotiating leverage.
The European Union faces a pivotal choice over how to secure supplies of essential medicines, with lawmakers debating whether Brussels should harness the collective bargaining power of its 450 million citizens or maintain the current system of individual national negotiations with major pharmaceutical suppliers in the United States and China. Renew Europe’s lead negotiator on…
European Union gas storage levels stood at 36 per cent on 13 May 2026, the lowest mid-injection-season reading since 2018, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz tightens LNG supply. The Commission has formally relaxed the mandatory November filling target from 90 per cent to 80 per cent for the 2026 winter season.
The European Parliament has finalised its position on the long-anticipated steel safeguards reform, establishing a tariff-free import quota of 18.3 million tonnes per year and imposing a 50 per cent duty on volumes above that threshold. The regulation is due to take effect on 1 July 2026.
EU trade ministers meet in the Foreign Affairs Council (Trade) configuration this week to review economic security, the impact of the Middle East conflict on trade flows, and the follow-up to the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference held in Yaoundé from 26 to 30 March 2026.
Cybersec Europe 2026 opens in Brussels today as MEPs in Strasbourg debate EU cyber resilience in the face of advanced AI systems including Mythos. The Commission’s Tech Sovereignty package – Cloud and AI Development Act and Chips Act 2 – is expected on 27 May.
The European Commission presents its Fertilisers Action Plan during the May plenary in Strasbourg, addressing EU agriculture’s dependency on imported nitrogen, persistently elevated prices since the 2022 energy crisis, and the necessity of anchoring strategic production capacity within the Union.
European equity markets traded firmer on Monday 18 May 2026 as the CAC 40 reclaimed lost ground and the FTSE 100 reasserted technical control, whilst oil prices kept swinging on Strait of Hormuz tension. The ECB countdown to the 4-5 June decision is now fully on.
