GLOBAL NEWS-
Japan’s economy minister said he had “frank and good” trade talks with his U.S. counterpart on Monday, but stressed that currency rates should be discussed in a different context, between finance ministers.The meeting comes after U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed last September to start trade talks in an arrangement that protects Japanese automakers from further tariffs while talks are underway.Trump has made clear he is unhappy with Japan’s $68 billion trade surplus with the United States - much of it from auto exports - and wants a two-way agreement to address it.Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters that most of the three-hour meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was centered on goods.
Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Monday that he had confirmed with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer that new bilateral trade talks would proceed based on the two nations’ joint statement issued last September.Speaking to reporters in Washington, D.C., Motegi said he had a “frank and good exchange” with Lighthizer. The two would meet again on Tuesday, after which Motegi said he would explain the contents of their talks.
India’s goods exports picked up in March, boosted by the weaker rupee despite a slowdown in global trade growth, helping the country to contain its trade deficit despite a surge in oil imports.Merchandise exports rose 11.02 percent to $32.55 billion in March from a year earlier, while imports were up 1.44 percent to $43.44 billion during the same period, a statement by the trade ministry said on Monday.Oil imports, the biggest item in the import bill, rose 5.55 percent to $11.75 billion, driven by a rise in Indian demand and increases in global crude prices.India meets nearly 80 percent of its fuel demand through imports.The ministry does not issue separate data for trade in services. That is issued in about a month’s time by the Reserve Bank of India.However, the ministry did issue estimates for goods and services trade in the year to March 31, based on the full-year merchandise trade figures and the first 11 months of services trade.
India’s finance minister said on Monday fast economic growth and rapid urbanisation would slash the number of people in extreme poverty by 2021 and end it completely in the decade after that.More than 21 percent of India’s 1.3 billion people lived on less than $1.90 a day in 2011, when the last census was taken, according to the World Bank.
President Donald Trump said on Monday he believed the United States would emerge from its trade dispute with China as a winner, no matter what happened.“We’re going to win either way. We either win by getting a deal or we win by not getting a deal,” Trump said during a visit to a business roundtable in Burnsville, Minnesota.The world’s two biggest economies are nine months into a trade war that has cost billions of dollars, roiled financial markets and upended supply chains.Trump’s administration has slapped tariffs on $250 billion worth of imports of Chinese goods to press demands for an end to policies that Washington says hurt U.S. companies competing with Chinese firms. China responded with its own tit-for-tat tariffs on U.S. goods.
The U.S. Federal Reserve should shore up its ability to fight economic downturns by committing to let inflation run above 2% “in good times,” a top policymaker said on Monday.The comments by Eric Rosengren, president of the Boston Fed, echoed remarks made earlier in the day by another Fed policymaker who cited the U.S. economy’s falling a bit short on the central bank’s inflation target as a problem. The Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, is currently at 1.8%.Rosengren said he supports an approach that would see the Fed, which is “forced to accept” inflation below its 2% target during recessions, commit to achieve above-2% inflation “in good times.” Policymakers, for instance, could target a range of 1.5-2.5%.
The European Union is ready to starts talks on a trade agreement with the United States and could conclude a deal before the end of the year, European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said on Monday.Malmstrom said she would now reach out to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to see when talks could begin.“We are ready as soon as they are,” Malmstrom told a news conference.She added Brussels would strive to agree what amounted to a limited deal before the Commission’s term ends on Oct. 31. “If we agree to start, I think it can go quite quickly.”
Moving slowly in the fog of Brexit and slowing global growth, Britain’s economy is increasingly reliant on consumers and their spending as business investment and exports fade.The world’s fifth-biggest economy grew 1.4 percent in 2018, the weakest increase in six years, and it looks set to slow further in 2019.On Wednesday, the European Union delayed Britain’s departure from the bloc until the end of October, but scepticism runs high that lawmakers in London can form a consensus over Brexit.
New Zealand’s central bank governor Adrian Orr said on Tuesday an easing bias on interest rates will remain in place for now and that softer global economic conditions had contributed to the bank’s recent shift to a dovish policy tone.At the last policy review in March, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) held the cash rate steady at 1.75 percent, but stunned markets by clearly stating that the next move in rates would likely be a cut.“It remains, but it remains to be challenged by the data that we have seen,” Orr told Reuters in an interview when asked if the central bank is maintaining its easing bias.
Gold slipped for a fourth straight session on Tuesday as optimism over the U.S.-China trade talks helped investors retain risk appetite despite dismal quarterly results from Wall Street.pot gold was down 0.1 percent at $1,286.38 per ounce, as of 0120 GMT. In the previous session, the bullion dropped to $1,281.96, its weakest since April 4. U.S. gold futures shed about 0.2 percent at $1,289.20 an ounce.
Oil prices edged down on Tuesday after a Russian minister said the nation and OPEC may boost crude output to fight for market share, checking a recent sharp rally driven by tighter global production.Brent crude oil futures were at $71.08 a barrel at 0111 GMT, down 10 cents, or 0.1 percent, from their last close. Brent ended down 0.5 percent on Monday.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $63.39 per barrel, down 2 cents, or 0.1 percent, from their previous settlement. WTI fell 0.8 percent on Monday.Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said over the weekend that Russia and OPEC may decide to boost production to fight for market share with the United States, but this would push oil as low as $40 per barrel.