GLOBAL NEWS-
U.S. President Donald Trump’s blunt-force use of tariffs in pursuing his “America First” trade agenda has angered many, from company executives to allied governments and members of both parties of Congress.But there’s one effort which has drawn broad support from those who oppose him on almost everything else - his push to force Beijing to change what are widely viewed as China’s market-distorting trade and subsidy practices.
As U.S.-China talks to end a trade war reach their endgame, politicians, executives and foreign diplomats are urging Trump and his team to hold out for meaningful structural reforms in China to address entrenched problems in the relationship that hurt U.S. and other foreign companies and workers.Trump’s trade war “has let the genie out of the bottle” by lifting expectations that the trade war will force China to reform policies that businesses and foreign governments regard as unfair, said Steven Gardon, vice president of indirect taxes and customs at Lear Corp. Gardon’s firm is an automotive seating and electrical supplier with plants in 39 countries, including the United States and China.
Singapore’s February core inflation rate eased to 1.5 percent from a year earlier, its lowest in nine months, due to smaller increases in the cost of services, retail items as well as electricity and gas, data showed on Monday.The median forecast in a Reuters poll was for a 1.7 percent rise. The core inflation gauge in January had risen 1.7 percent from a year earlier.Singapore’s headline consumer price index edged up to 0.5 percent in February from a year earlier, due to more gradual declines in private road transport and accommodation costs.The median forecast in the poll was for all-items CPI to rise 0.5 percent.In January, headline CPI rose 0.4 percent year-on-year.
British Prime Minister Theresa May held crisis talks with senior colleagues and hardline Brexiteers on Sunday trying to breathe life into her twice-defeated European divorce deal after reports her cabinet was plotting to topple her.The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union was already slipping from May’s weakened grasp as she struggled to increase support for her deal and parliament prepared to grab control of Brexit in the coming days.At one of the most important junctures for Britain since World War Two, politics was at fever pitch.Yet, nearly three years since the 2016 referendum, it remains unclear how, when or if Brexit will ever take place.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday she will travel to China at the end of the week for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, amid concerns of strained relations between the countries.Ardern said she would travel to Beijing on Sunday.She first announced her plans to visit China last year but no final dates had been announced.Ties with China have been tense under Ardern’s government which has openly raised concerns about Beijing’s growing influence in the South Pacific, and rejected Chinese telecoms giant Huawei’s first local bid to build a 5G mobile network.Opposition leaders have blamed Ardern and her government for the alleged deteriorating relations with China, and said that ties were at the worst ever.
The yen gained against its peers on Monday, touching a six-week peak versus the dollar, as fears in markets of a global economic slowdown fueled demand for the Japanese currency.The yen, a perceived safe-haven which attracts demand times of market turmoil and political tensions, was 0.15 percent higher at 109.79 to the dollar after brushing 109.70, its strongest since Feb. 8.The Japanese currency rose 0.15 percent to 124.035 per euro and added 0.2 percent to 77.72 against the Australian dollar.Stocks across Asia retreated, tracking global peers, after weaker-than-expected U.S. and European manufacturing data on Friday intensified fears of a global economic slowdown.
U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry have made winners out of Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc, Gulf of Mexico offshore heavyweights, as refiners in need of substitutes are scooping up oil produced in the region.Those two companies produce notable amounts of crude oil that refiners have settled on as the immediate replacement for the heavy Venezuelan crude that U.S. refiners relied on for years.
Trading volumes in these grades of oil have surged to the highest in months, and prices touched five-year peaks after sanctions were imposed.U.S. production has surged to a record 12 million barrels a day, but less than 5 percent of that is heavy oil. The sanctions have hamstrung refineries in the United States, as many giant Gulf Coast facilities need heavier oil to produce high-margin refined products like diesel and jet fuel.Heavy crude accounts for nearly two-thirds of U.S. oil imports. Of that, Venezuela’s oil accounted for 10 percent of heavy crude imports in 2018 and about 13 percent in 2017, according to U.S. Energy Department figures.
Malaysian palm oil futures fell to their lowest in three days on Monday tracking weaker related edible oils, and were on track for a second day of drop after five sessions of gains.The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 1.5 percent to 2,134 ringgit ($524.58) a tonne at the midday break, its sharpest decline since March 4. It earlier fell to a three-day low of 2,133 ringgit.“Weak external markets weighed on palm. The market was also earlier overbought, so now it is seeing a pullback,” said a Kuala Lumpur-based trader.“While exports should be steady, overall production for March should be up slightly.”Gains in production would add to current stockpiles, which unexpectedly rose 1.3 percent to 3.05 million tonnes in February, according to industry regulator the Malaysian Palm Oil Board earlier this month.
Gold rose on Monday as investors’ appetite for riskier assets faded on concerns about a potential U.S. recession and decelerating global growth, increasing appeal for the bullion alongside yen and bonds.Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,316.11 per ounce as of 0422 GMT, while U.S. gold futures gained 0.3 percent to $1,315.80 an ounce.The metal last week posted its third consecutive weekly gain and rose 1 percent, the most since the week ended Feb. 1.Investors dumped shares and fled to the safety of bonds, while the Japanese yen hovered near a six-week high.“Market is in a risk aversion mode. It seems that the data from Friday night, of U.S. and Europe, didn’t come as expected.
Oil prices dropped by almost 1 percent on Monday, with concerns recession could be looming outweighing supply disruptions from OPEC’s production cutbacks and from U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela.Brent crude oil futures were at $66.56 per barrel at 0410 GMT, down 47 cents, or 0.7 percent, from their last close.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were at $58.52 per barrel, down 52 cents, or 0.9 percent, from their previous settlement.Both crude oil price benchmarks have slumped by more than 3 percent since last week hitting their highest since November 2018.