GLOBAL NEWS-
U.S. President Donald Trump looked set to open a new front in his trade wars on Monday with a plan to end preferential trade treatment for India that allows duty-free entry for $5.6 billion worth of the country’s exports to the United States.Trump, who has vowed to cut U.S. trade deficits, has repeatedly called out India for its high tariffs, and U.S. trade officials said scrapping the concessions would take at least 60 days after notifications to Congress and the Indian government.“I am taking this step because, after intensive engagement between the United States and the government of India, I have determined that India has not assured the United States that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to the markets of India,” Trump said in a letter to congressional leaders.
Australia’s central bank stuck to its upbeat view of the economy after it held rates at record lows in a widely expected move on Tuesday, just a day before GDP data is likely to show domestic momentum almost stalled last quarter.The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) ended a 30th straight meeting with rates at 1.50 percent and signaled a steady policy outlook as it awaits a pick up in economic growth and inflation.That wait may prove longer with a run of soft data from consumption to housing this week leading analysts to downgrade forecasts for fourth-quarter growth to near nothing. Official figures on gross domestic product (GDP) are due on Wednesday.
India does not plan to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods after U.S. President Donald Trump said he intends to end India’s preferential trade treatment, a top trade official said on Tuesday.Anup Wadhawan said the withdrawal of the Generalised System of Preferences for Indian products would have limited impact. The two countries had been working on a trade package to address each other’s concerns, he said.Under the GSP program, India exports $5.6 billion worth of goods to the United States duty free.India’s exports of farm, marine and handicraft products to the United States could be hit by U.S. plans to end a preferential trade treatment to the country in the next two months.We fear that our labour-intensive exports of agriculture, marine and handicraft products to the U.S. would be hit hard,” Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations.
British consumers reined in their spending in February ahead of Brexit and shoppers focussed on buying food, including for stock-piling, rather than non-essential items, data released on Tuesday showed.The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said total sales edged up by an annual 0.5 percent, a sharp slowdown from growth of 2.2 percent in January.Separately, Barclaycard said its broader measure of consumer spending rose by 1.2 percent, the weakest increase since the company began recording spending on its cards in 2015.
The European Union’s top trade officials will update their U.S. counterparts this week on progress in obtaining a negotiating mandate for a EU-U.S. trade deal on industrial goods and raise concern over existing and potential future U.S. tariffs. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom will meet U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on March 6 in Washington and the Secretary-General of the European Commission, Martin Selmayr, will meet the Director of the United States National Economic Council Larry Kudlow on March 7.The European Union’s executive arm, the European Commission, has the sole responsibility for negotiating trade deals for the whole 28-nation bloc of 513 million people and has been in close discussions with Washington over trade policy since last July to avert the threat of U.S. tariffs on EU cars and car parts.Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said on Feb. 18 that U.S. tariffs on imports of European cars could mean that Europe would buy less soy beans and liquid gas from the United States, imports of which have jumped since July.
China set a 2019 budget deficit target that’s higher than last year’s ratio and said its fiscal policy would be more “proactive and effective”.The Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday that it is targeting a budget deficit of 2.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for this year, compared with 2018’s 2.6 percent target.Investors are watching for signs of government policy easing to revive slowing growth amid a trade war with the United States.Policymakers have pledged to step up support for the cooling economy this year, following a raft of measures in 2018 including fast-tracked infrastructure projects and cuts in banks’ reserve requirements and taxes.
China will cut billions of dollars in taxes and fees, increase infrastructure investment, and step up lending to small firms as the government boosts stimulus to shore up an economy growing at its slowest pace in almost 30 years.The government is targeting economic growth of 6.0 to 6.5 percent in 2019, Premier Li Keqiang said at Tuesday’s opening of the annual meeting of China’s parliament, less than the 6.6 percent gross domestic product growth reported last year.
Asian shares stepped back on Tuesday, weighed by U.S. growth concerns and as China cut its economic expansion target amid growing challenges from rising debt and a dispute over trade and technology with the United States.Beijing lowered the growth target for this year to 6.0 to 6.5 percent, as expected, from around 6.5 percent last year and offered more stimulus, including cuts in taxes and social security fees, increases in infrastructure investment and lending to small firms.MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.5 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.6 percent and Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.6 percent.
Malaysian palm oil futures inched higher on Tuesday along with other edible oils, but gains were limited by concerns over production and demand.The benchmark palm oil contract for May delivery 1FCPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 0.6 percent to 2,161 ringgit ($530.18) a tonne at midday break.Traders were taking cues from an industry conference in the Malaysian capital to gauge outlook for the palm oil market."Market is likely to hold at these levels as production is coming off," a trader said on the sidelines of the conference.Palm oil output typically falls on a monthly basis in the first quarter in line with seasonal trend. But annual production outlook in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia continued to weigh on prices.
Oil fell towards $65 a barrel on Tuesday, pressured by the restart of Libya’s biggest oilfield and on expectations for an increase in U.S. crude inventories.Some wells at Libya’s El Sharara oilfield have restarted and the aim is to reach initial output of 80,000 barrels per day, a field engineer said on Tuesday. The field had been closed since December.Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 62 cents to $65.05 a barrel as of 0930 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 44 cents to $56.15.“The main development has been the restart of El Sharara,” said Olivier Jakob, analyst at Petromatrix. “It’s a new input which is on the bearish side.”Oil also slipped on forecasts that the latest round of U.S. inventory reports will show rising crude stockpiles. Six analysts polled by Reuters estimated, on average, that crude stocks rose 400,000 barrels in the week to March 1.