Bondcast - The Rates Podcast

This week, host Imogen Bachra (Head of Economics & Markets Strategy) is joined by Ian Vanderhorn (Macroeconomics Strategist) and Oriane Parmentier (European Rates Strategist) to provide a comprehensive update on recent geopolitical swings. They focus on higher oil prices, what this means for inflation, and how bond markets have reacted. Lastly, they share their expectations ahead of central bank decisions next week in the UK, Europe and the US. 

This episode was recorded on 11 March 2026.

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This week’s combined episode of Currency Exchange and Bondcast focuses on the ongoing Middle East conflict and its impacts on currency and rates markets. This episode features edited highlights from a client webinar hosted on Tuesday, featuring host Imogen Bachra (Head of Economics and Markets Strategy) and guests Scott Livingstone (International Advisor) and Paul Robson (Co-Head of G10FX Strategy). 

They discussed: 

- Management of ammunition and defence resources by regional players.
- Political pressure on President Trump to conclude this initial phase swiftly.
- Expected continuation of heightened military activity over the next few days.
- Monitoring Iranian missile, drone, and maritime operations, including possible threats to the Strait of Hormuz.
- Indicators for de-escalation: signs of pragmatic politics or regional diplomatic intervention.
- Importance of maritime security in global energy markets.
- Currency markets responding as expected: dollar strength sterling resilience in cross-currency pairs.
- Volatility in bond markets reflecting both safe-haven demand and concerns over defence spending and future inflation.
- Key market drivers to watch.

This episode was recorded on 3 March 2026.

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In this crossover episode of Bondcast and its sister show Currency Exchange, host Brian Daingerfield is joined by Ian Vanderhorn to explore the recent Supreme Court decision on US tariffs, its implications for FX and rates market dynamics, and the future of tariff policy. 

This episode was recorded on 25 February 2026.

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In this episode of Bondcast, Ian Vanderhorn and market specialists Paul Robson and Oriane Parmentier discuss the passing week’s developments in rates markets. In the UK, there was a sizeable amount of data to process, most notably on inflation. But how is the market reacting? Elsewhere, they discuss rising tensions off the coast of Iran, the price of oil and French bond market resilience.
Remember to hit subscribe so you can listen to the latest episodes in this series as soon as they're available and get our views on the big themes and events moving markets and shaping the economy.
This episode was recorded on 19 February 2026, and captions are automatically generated.
For any terms used please refer to this glossary https://www.natwest.com/corporates/insights/markets/glossary.html
Please view our full disclaimer here: https://www.natwest.com/corporates/disclaimer.html

In this episode of Bondcast, Ian Vanderhorn and market specialists Paul Robson and Oriane Parmentier discuss the latest developments in rates markets. They focus on political uncertainties in the UK, the implications of recent job market reports in the US and the Euro area’s supply situation.

You can also find this episode of Bondcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.  

Remember to hit subscribe so you can listen to the latest episodes in this series as soon as they're available and get our views on the big themes and events moving markets and shaping the economy.

This episode was recorded on 12 February 2026, and captions are automatically generated.

For any terms used please refer to this glossary https://www.natwest.com/corporates/insights/markets/glossary.html
Please view our full disclaimer here: https://www.natwest.com/corporates/disclaimer.html