EU CREDIT UPDATE: CREDIT UPDATE: EUR Market Wrap

* US Data/Speaker Calendar (prior, estimate). Times in ET

Mar-19 0830 Building permits (1489k, 1496k)

Mar-19 0830 Housing starts (1331k, 1440k)

Mar-19 1130 US Tsy to sell $46B 52-W bills, $75B 42-D CMB

Mar-19 1300 US Tsy to sell $13B 20-Y reopen (912810TZ1)

Mar-19 1600 Total Net TIC Flows ($139.8b, --)

EURIBOR FIX - EMMI/Bloomberg:

• EUR001W 3.8750 0.0040
• EUR001M 3.8620 0.0070
• EUR003M 3.9350 0.0070
• EUR006M 3.9090 -0.0060
• EUR012M 3.7560 0.0060

The ECB's favoured underlying inflation metric saw a second consecutive uptick in February.

• Overall PCCI (persistent/common component) was 2.13% Y/Y (vs 1.94% prior), while PCCI ex-energy/food was 2.05% Y/Y (vs 1.89% prior).
• It is still too early to tell whether the Jan/Feb PCCI data signifies a reversal in underlying inflation momentum. Prior to the last two upticks, the PCCI ex-energy/food measure declined for 10 consecutive months from a peak of 4.00% Y/Y.
• Nonetheless, the data will be viewed alongside similar rises in core/services inflation momentum in February, underscoring the ECB's need for "more confidence" that inflation is sustainably on its way to the 2% target before easing policy rates.
• This supports the apparent Governing Council consensus eyeing a first cut not before the June meeting, by when significantly more data on price pressures will be available.
• Other ECB-calculated underlying inflation metrics nonetheless decelerated in February, with the 10% trimmed mean and weighted median measured printing below 3% for the first time in 28 and 25 months respectively.