GLOBAL NEWS-
British Prime Minister Theresa May could face a defeat in parliament on Thursday over her plan to renegotiate the Brexit deal, undermining her pledge to the European Union that, with changes, she can get the agreement approved.Thursday’s symbolic vote was seen by May’s team as little more than a rubber stamp of her plan to secure changes to the divorce deal with the EU, giving her more time to satisfy lawmakers’ concerns over one part of it - the Irish backstop.
But hardline Brexit supporters in her governing Conservative Party are angry over what they say is her acceptance of ruling out a no-deal departure, something May and her team deny, saying by law Britain will leave the EU on March 29 without an agreement if no deal is struck.The latest twist in the two-year negotiation to leave the EU underlines the deep divisions in parliament over how, or even whether, Britain should leave the bloc in the country’s biggest political and trade policy shift in more than 40 years.
The Russian ruble opened stronger on Thursday, supported by rising oil prices, but the stock market was under pressure from proposed new U.S. sanctions. the ruble was 0.13 percent stronger against the dollar at 66.43. It lost 0.02 percent to trade at 74.92 versus the euro.Russian stock indexes were down. The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 1.5 percent to 1,173.4 points. The ruble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.56 percent lower at 2,472.7 points.Russian state bank VTB was down 1.74 percent. Sberbank has lost 2.1 percent.Russia has the tools to shield its economy from possible new U.S. sanctions, and the central bank and finance ministry have already created a buffer to protect the country’s banks, the Russian finance minister said on Thursday.
The German economy stalled in the final quarter of last year, escaping recession by the narrowest of margins after contracting in the July-September period for the first time since 2015.Gross domestic product (GDP) in Europe’s biggest economy grew by 0.0 percent quarter-on-quarter, the Federal Statistics Office said on Thursday. That compared with a Reuters forecast for growth of 0.1 percent.German companies are grappling with a cooling global economy and trade disputes triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ policies. The risk that Britain leaves the European Union without a deal in March is another uncertainty.Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the economy grew by 0.6 percent from October to December, calendar-adjusted data showed. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected 0.7 percent.
China’s soybean imports fell 13 percent in January from the same month a year earlier, customs data showed on Thursday, as a hefty duty imposed on shipments from the United States, its second-largest supplier, curbed purchases.China brought in 7.38 million tonnes of soybeans in January, down from 8.48 million tonnes a year earlier, preliminary data from the General Administration of Customs showed. January’s imports were up 29 percent from 5.72 million tonnes in December.
China’s trade surplus with the United States narrowed to $27.3 billion in January, from $29.87 billion in December, customs data showed on Thursday. China’s exports to the United States fell 2.4 percent in January from a year earlier, while imports from the United States plunged 41.2 percent.China’s large trade surplus with the United States has long been a sore point with Washington, and is at the centre of a bitter dispute between the world’s two biggest economies.
China and the United States began high level trade talks in Beijing on Thursday, state news agency Xinhua said.The talks are being led by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and will end on Friday.
Japan’s economy bounced back in the fourth quarter as business and consumer spending recovered from the impact of natural disasters but trade frictions and a proposed sales tax hike are expected to hinder growth in 2019.The 1.4 percent annualised expansion in October-December matched the median estimate in a Reuters poll. It also followed an upwardly revised 2.6 percent annualised contraction in July-September as floods and an earthquake temporarily halted production.Real exports rose 0.9 percent in October-December from the previous quarter, the data from the Cabinet Office showed, the fastest growth in a year.
Asian stock markets were in a cautious mood on Thursday as investors hung on for any hint of progress in the latest Sino-U.S. tariff talks, though China trade data handily beat expectations in a welcome relief for the global economy.Beijing reported exports rose 9.1 percent in January on a year earlier, confounding forecasts of a fall, while imports dipped by a surprisingly slight 1.5 percent.As a result China’s trade surplus also topped forecasts while imports from the U.S. plunged 41 percent, which might not please the White House.With Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in China for high level talks, investors had been daring to hope for good news.
Saudi Arabia said it regrets the European Commission's decision to include the country in a blacklist of nations seen as posing a threat to the bloc because of lax controls against terrorism financing and money laundering, a statement published by Saudi Press Agency said early on Thursday.
"Saudi Arabia's commitment to combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism is a strategic priority and we will continue to develop and improve our regulatory and legislative frameworks to achieve this goal", the statement quoted Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan as saying.
Venezuela’s opposition-controlled congress named new temporary boards of directors to state-oil firm PDVSA on Wednesday, in an effort to wrest the OPEC nation’s oil revenue from increasingly isolated socialist President Nicolas Maduro.Maduro lashed out at the congress leader, Juan Guaido, saying in an interview that he would face the courts “sooner or later” for violating the constitution, after Guaido invoked constitutional provisions last month to assume an interim presidency.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he was looking forward to trade talks with China on Thursday, as discussions in Beijing moved to a higher level in a push to de-escalate a tariff war ahead of a March 1 deadline for a deal.The talks, scheduled to run through Friday, follow three days of deputy-level meetings to work out technical details, including a mechanism for enforcing any trade agreement."Looking forward to discussions today," Mnuchin told reporters without elaborating as he left his hotel.
He and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer opened the meetings shortly afterward at the Diaoyutai state guest house with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, the top economic adviser to Chinese President Xi Jinping.U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of imports from China are scheduled to rise to 25 percent from 10 percent if the two sides don't reach a deal by the deadline, increasing pressure and costs in sectors from consumer electronics to agriculture.
The dollar held near three-month highs versus the euro on Thursday, supported by sustained strength in core U.S. inflation and weaker-than-expected data out of Europe.
U.S. consumer prices were unchanged for a third straight month in January, leading to the smallest annual increase in inflation in more than 1-1/2 years, which could allow the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates steady for a while.
U.S. and Indian government officials pressed on with talks on Thursday to resolve their differences over trade and investment, Indian government sources said, even though U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross called off his visit because of bad weather at home.Ross addressed a U.S.-India CEO Forum by video after his flight was cancelled and was due to similarly join the commercial dialogue later in the day with Indian Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu, the sources said.U.S. ambassador to India Kenneth Juster is leading the delegation on the ground.India and the United States are sparring over a range of issues, from India’s new rules on e-ecommerce that affect firms such as Amazon and Walmart to data localisation and its tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump says are exceptionally high.Washington has also had a longstanding grievance with India over its large trade deficit with the United States and what it sees as the Indian government’s lax intellectual property enforcement.
Gold prices inched up on Thursday on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will hold rates steady this year, while investors hoped for developments in trade talks between Washington and Beijing.Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,308.20 per ounce. U.S. gold futures were down 0.3 percent at $1,311.U.S. consumer prices were unchanged for a third straight month in January, leading to the smallest annual increase in inflation in more than 1-1/2 years, which could allow the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates steady for a while.
Oil prices rose on Thursday, buoyed by hopes that potential progress in the latest Sino-U.S. tariff talks would improve the global economic outlook.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $54.15 per barrel up 25 cents, or 0.5 percent, from their last settlement. They closed up 1.5 percent on Wednesday, having touched their highest since Feb. 5 at $54.60 a barrel.International Brent crude oil futures were up 29 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $63.90 a barrel. They closed the previous session up 1.9 percent, after marking their strongest since Nov. 21 at $63.98 a barrel.