Westpac Bank stated that the strong US economy and the high wealth of households have sustained consumption and slowed the pace of inflation reduction. Low unemployment and wage growth indicate that demand is still strong, and price pressures, especially in the services sector, continue. For this reason, the bank predicts that the Federal Reserve will likely postpone its last interest rate cut until June 2026. This assessment is contrary to market expectations for faster rate cuts and indicates ongoing uncertainty in the US monetary policy path.

Abbas Iraqchi, Iran's foreign minister, arrived in Geneva a few minutes ago for a new round of diplomatic consultations. According to informed sources, he is scheduled to meet and discuss with Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as the Omani foreign minister on Monday. What distinguishes this trip from the usual nuclear negotiations are speculations about Tehran's strategic change. According to unofficial news, Iraqchi has traveled to Geneva this time with a different agenda; his accompanying team apparently has the mission to activate the economic annex of the negotiations.

Switzerland’s economy returned to positive territory at the end of last year with 0.2% growth in Q4, partially offsetting the heavy tariff shock imposed by Donald Trump. However, weak service growth and an almost stagnant industrial sector meant overall performance fell slightly below economists’ forecasts. The strong franc and pressure on export-oriented companies remain a significant risk and may even lead the Swiss National Bank to consider reintroducing negative interest rates. Overall, annual economic growth reached 1.4%, but signs of layoffs and rising uncertainty are visible in the coming months.

Zelensky said Trump is exerting disproportionate pressure on Ukraine to advance a peace agreement and is demanding more concessions from Kyiv than from Moscow. In an interview with Axios, Zelensky said that giving up additional territories, even if requested by Russia, would not be acceptable to Ukrainian public opinion. He emphasized that any plan involving withdrawal beyond the current lines would likely be rejected in a referendum. The Ukrainian president called for stabilizing the situation along the current contact lines, especially in the Donbas region.