GLOBAL NEWS-
Venezuela’s opposition said it would use a U.S.-based fund to receive some of the country’s oil income in a key step to bankroll its efforts to dislodge President Nicolas Maduro.The fund would receive income accrued by state-run oil firm PDVSA’s U.S. unit Citgo Petroleum Corp since last month, when U.S. President Donald Trump recognised Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate head of state, opposition legislator Carlos Paparoni told Reuters.Guadio, head of Venezuela’s National Assembly, last month declared himself to be the South American country’s interim ruler.
The Bank of England looks set to trim its forecasts for Britain’s already sluggish growth on Thursday, reflecting the approach of a still uncertain Brexit in just 50 days’ time and a slowdown in many of the world’s big economies.But the BoE is also likely to strike a contrasting note to the U.S. Federal Reserve by reminding investors that it still intends to raise interest rates, if Britain can avoid the shock of an abrupt no-deal departure from the European Union.With a transition deal still not in the bag, the BoE’s rate-setters are expected to vote unanimously to keep their benchmark borrowing rate at 0.75 percent, according to a Reuters poll of economists.“The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is clearly in ‘wait and see’ mode.
Weaker demand from abroad unexpectedly dragged down German industrial orders in December, data showed on Wednesday, in the latest sign that exporters in Europe’s largest economy are being hurt by a slowing world economy and rising trade barriers.Contracts for ‘Made in Germany’ goods were down by 1.6 percent - compared with a 0.3 percent rise forecast by economists - after an upwardly revised drop of 0.2 percent in the previous month, the Federal Statistics Office said.“The decline in orders in December indicates that the industry’s phase of weakness is continuing for the time being.
India’s cabinet on Wednesday introduced amendments it said would make unregulated deposit schemes more difficult to run.The additions to a 2018 bill would remove considerable time lags involved in punishing the operators of such schemes, union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters after the cabinet meeting.
The Reserve Bank of India led Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) policy statement is due for release later today at 11:45AM. Economists expect the central bank to change the policy stance from 'calibrated tightening' to 'neutral' while keeping the repo rate unchanged on the back of benign inflation and subdued crude oil prices.
The Australian dollar languished near a two-week low on Thursday on rising bets that interest rates would most likely come down this year amid heightened growth risks at home and abroad.Australia’s central bank on Wednesday opened the door to a possible rate cut as it acknowledged growing economic risks in a remarkable shift from its long-standing tightening bias that sent the Aussie dollar sliding.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday that he and other U.S. officials will travel to Beijing next week for trade talks, aiming to clinch a deal to avert a March 2 increase in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday the U.S. economy remains in a good place and has proved resilient so far to shocks like the British decision to leave the European Union.“The U.S. economy is now in a good place,” with low unemployment and inflation near the Fed’s 2 percent target, Powell said in a question-and-answer session with economics educators in Washington and telecast to Fed branches nationwide. “We’ve had some big events, some surprises like Brexit...and the system has been strong.
The dollar is losing some of its appeal, according to strategists polled by Reuters, who said the U.S. currency’s fortunes have reversed in line with the Federal Reserve taking a dovish turn on rate hikes.
Asian share markets edged up to four-month highs on Thursday with Australian equities the star performer while the New Zealand dollar sank after disappointing jobs data prompted investors to narrow the odds of a future rate cut.Trading was still light overall with China on holiday and no major economic data on the diary. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.2 percent, rising to its highest since early October after ending almost unchanged on Wednesday.The index has risen steadily since early January as the U.S. Federal Reserve changed its tune on policy for further rate rises.
The Bank of England looks set to trim its forecasts for Britain’s already sluggish growth on Thursday, reflecting the approach of a still uncertain Brexit in just 50 days’ time and a slowdown in many of the world’s big economies.But the BoE is also likely to strike a contrasting note to the U.S. Federal Reserve by reminding investors that it still intends to raise interest rates, if Britain can avoid the shock of an abrupt no-deal departure from the European Union.With a transition deal still not in the bag, the BoE’s rate-setters are expected to vote unanimously to keep their benchmark borrowing rate at 0.75 percent, according to a Reuters poll of economists.
The European Commission will slash its 2019 growth forecast for Italy, the euro zone's third-biggest economy, to 0.2 percent from its 1.2 percent estimate given in November. The Commission is due to publish its new forecasts on Thursday. Italy's economy contracted for the second consecutive quarter at the end of last year, throwing the country into its third recession in a decade.
Gold fell to a more than one-week low on Thursday, pressured by a stronger dollar, but worries over slowing global economic growth and the spectre of another U.S. government shutdown kept the safe-haven metal above the key $1,300 level.Spot gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,303.64 per ounce , after touching its lowest since Jan. 29 at $1,302.84. Prices fell 0.7 percent in the previous session in their biggest one-day drop since Jan. 18.U.S. gold futures were down 0.5 percent at $1,307.30.
Oil prices fell on Thursday after U.S. crude inventories rose and as production levels in the country held at record levels, but OPEC-led supply cuts and Washington’s sanctions against Venezuela supported markets.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.84 per barrel, down 17 cents, or 0.3 percent, from their last settlement.International Brent crude oil futures were down by 26 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $62.43 per barrel.U.S. crude oil inventories climbed by 1.3 million barrels in the week that ended Feb. 1 to 447.21 million barrels, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Wednesday.