GLOBAL NEWS-
Japan will forge ahead with a planned sales tax hike to 10 percent in October, likely knocking the economy into contraction in the fourth quarter.Tokyo has twice postponed raising the sales tax from 8 percent but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has repeatedly said the hike will proceed this time.To blunt its economic impact, the government has earmarked about 2 trillion yen ($18 billion) in spending.Authorities say the move is needed to cover growing social welfare costs as the population rapidly ages.
Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Friday that Japan and the United States will hold a first round of trade talks on April 15-16 in Washington, to find ways to address U.S. concerns over the large surplus Japan enjoys in bilateral trade nd U.S. President Donald Trump has made clear he is unhappy with Japan’s $69 billion trade surplus with the United States - nearly two-thirds of it from auto exports - and wants a two-way agreement to address it.
The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits dropped to a 49-1/2-year low last week, pointing to sustained labor market strength that could temper expectations of a sharp slowdown in economic growth.Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 196,000 for the week ended April 6, the lowest level since early October 1969. Claims have now declined for four straight weeks. Data for the prior week was revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously reported. The four-week moving average of initial claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 7,000 to 207,000 last week, the lowest level since early December 1969.The labor market is the main pillar of support for the economy, which appears to have lost momentum in the first quarter as the stimulus from a $1.5 trillion tax cut package fades and a trade war between China and the United States and softening global demand hurt exports.
China’s economic growth is expected to slow to a near 30-year low of 6.2 percent this year. as sluggish demand at home and abroad weigh on activity despite a flurry of policy support measures.economy will slow further in second quarter as exports likely remain under pressure as global demand deteriorates and the property market stays in a downward cycle, while stubbornly weak consumption for durable goods caps demand.
China’s exports rebounded in March but imports shrank for a fourth straight month and at a sharper pace, painting a mixed picture of the economy as trade talks with the United States reach their endgame.Investors are hoping for more signs of economic recovery in China to temper worries about slowing global growth, after the IMF this week downgraded its 2019 world outlook for the third time.But veteran China watchers had said export gains may be due more to seasonal factors than any sudden turnaround in lacklustre global demand, as shipments were expected to jump after long holidays in February.March exports rose 14.2 percent from a year earlier, customs data showed on Friday, the strongest growth in five months. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 7.3 percent gain after February’s 20.8 percent plunge.But China’s imports fell more than expected, suggesting its domestic demand remains weak. Imports fell 7.6 percent from a year earlier, worse than analysts’ forecasts for a 1.3 percent fall and widening from February’s 5.2 percent drop.That left the country with a trade surplus of $32.64 billion for the month, according to Reuters calculations based on the official data, much larger than forecasts of $7.05 billion.
Singapore’s economy grew more than expected in the first quarter from the quarter before on an annualized basis, preliminary data showed on Friday.Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.0 percent in the January-March period from the previous three months on an annualized and seasonally adjusted basis, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement.It was forecast to have expanded 1.2 percent on a quarter-on-quarter, seasonally adjusted and annualized basis.From the year ago, GDP grew 1.3 percent in the first quarter, below the 1.5 percent expansion forecast.
European refiners are paying the price for U.S. oil sanctions on Venezuela and Iran as they scramble to replace the sour crude Washington has blocked from the global market with increasingly expensive Russian oil.Compounding the impact of sanctions, OPEC members have mainly cut sour crude output as part of their deal with allied producers to boost oil prices while a large, new refinery, designed to run on sour oil, has just started up in Turkey.U.S. output is soaring and exports are set to jump later this year as new infrastructure comes online but it is not an alternative, being mainly light and sweet.As a result, European refiners have been left competing to secure as much medium, sour Russian Urals as they can, pushing the differential of that oil to levels not seen since 2013.Urals is anchored in a positive zone versus dated Brent and there is no indication it will fall to a discount any time soon.
The Philippines central bank is on course to cut its key rate as inflation cools, and policy easing will be on the table as soon as the May 9 meeting, Governor Benjamin Diokno said.“It’s not a matter of whether we cut, it is when,” Diokno told, where officials are gathered for the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. “We are considering it. I’m sure that will be in the agenda in the next policy meeting.”Consumer prices eased for a fifth consecutive month to 3.3 percent in March from a year earlier, with the average falling within the central bank’s 2 percent to 4 percent target. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas left the benchmark rate unchanged at 4.75 percent at its last three meetings while waiting for inflation to be firmly entrenched in the target range.
Pushing Britain’s deadline for exit from the European Union to the end of October answers none of the questions that have been torturing the country for three years. The new schedule removes the immediate risk of an unintended no-deal Brexit, which would otherwise have occurred today. That’s something. But it sheds no light on what needs to happen instead.Fatigue with every aspect of this farcical process is now so total that any plan that lets Britain move on looks appealing. Trouble is, no such plan is available.Prime Minister Theresa May means to keep talking to the Labour opposition, building support for a lightly tweaked version of the withdrawal deal she’s reached with the EU. She hopes Britain will leave on her terms well before the new deadline — quickly enough to avoid having to contest next month’s European parliamentary elections. She knows that Labour’s objections to her deal are more tactical than substantive — an effort to disguise the fact that Labour MPs are as deeply split on Brexit as the Tories are.
Malaysian palm oil futures rose on Friday, boosted by weakness in the ringgit and market anticipation of a potential government deal with China.The ringgit, which has been weakening since April 3, fell to its lowest since Jan. 28. A weaker ringgit, the currency in which the futures are traded, makes the commodity more attractive to buyers holding foreign notes.The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery 1FCPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 0.65 percent at 2,168 ringgit ($526.47) a tonne at the midday break.Palm's upward movement reversed some losses in the last two sessions which saw the futures dragged to a one-week low in the previous session due to a rising production outlook.
Asian shares were flat and U.S. Treasury yields pulled back on Friday as investor caution prevailed ahead of the release of first-quarter corporate earnings, although stronger U.S. economic data helped offset some concerns about global growth.Early in the trading day, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was barely higher, up 0.03 percent.Higher Chinese iron ore prices helped Australian shares outpace regional markets, pushing Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index up 0.7 percent.Japan’s Nikkei stock index gained 0.1 percent.
Gold was little changed on Friday, having declined the most in two weeks in the previous session after strong U.S. economic data, but the metal’s losses were limited by falls in the dollar and Asian equities.Spot gold was flat at $1,291.93 per ounce as of 0401 GMT, after touching a one-week low on Thursday. U.S. gold futures gained about 0.1 percent to $1,294.60 an ounce.
Major cryptocurrencies continued to trade in the red on Friday morning in Asia, extending losses following an unexpected rally the week before. finally lost its grip on the $5,000 level amid a bearish sentiment.Bitcoin dropped 6.59% to $4,991.2 by 12:02 PM ET (04:02 AM?GMT). The digital coin had been staying above the $5,000 level since it suddenly surged on April 1 and it even reached as high as $5,299.4 on Monday. lost 8.45% to $163.69, dived 9.27% to $0.32176 and plunged 13.83% to $77.878.The crypto market cap slid further to $169 billion from $184 billion at the beginning of this week, down 8%.The crypto market ended on a low note this week amid bearish outlook.
Oil prices were firm on Friday, supported by ongoing supply cuts led by producer club OPEC and by U.S. sanctions on petroleum exporters Iran and Venezuela.International Brent crude oil futures were at $71.01 per barrel at 0042 GMT, up 18 cents, or 0.3 percent, from their last close.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $63.78 per barrel, up 20 cents, or 0.3 percent, from their previous settlement.“We see Brent and WTI prices averaging $75 per barrel and $67 per barrel respectively through the rest of this year, but risk is asymmetrically skewed to the upside.