China: April trade surplus just over USD10bn
China had a trade surplus in April of just above USD10bn as exports and imports showed “very small growth,” Commerce Minister Chen Deming said yesterday. He added that exports and imports expanded “maybe just several percentage points.” Chinese imports in March rose 5.3% while exports increased 8.9% from a year earlier, leaving a trade surplus of USD5.35bn. The nation reported a trade deficit of USD31.5bn in February, its first shortfall in a year and the biggest since at least 1989, as Europe’s debt crisis crimped exports. (Bloomberg)
India: Service industry growth holds close to five-month low
Indian services expanded at close to the slowest pace in five months in April after economic growth eased, a private report showed. The Purchasing Managers’ Index was at 52.8, little changed from 52.3 in March, HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics said in a statement yesterday. The Reserve Bank of India cut interest rates last month for the first time since 2009 to aid expansion after the government estimated 6.9% economic growth in the 12 months ended 31 March, the least in three years. (Bloomberg)
UK: Services growth slowed more than forecast in April
UK services growth slowed more than economists forecast in April as Bank of England policy makers prepare to weigh up prospects for the economy before a decision on their stimulus program next week. A gauge based on a survey of purchasing managers declined to 53.3 from 55.3 in March, Markit Economics and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply said in a report in London. (Bloomberg)
E.U: Draghi says rates accommodative as economic outlook worsens. Latest indicators "are not enough to change our baseline scenario, which foresees a gradual recovery in the course of the year," Draghi said at a press conference after the ECB held its benchmark interest rate at a record low of 1%. "We didn't discuss any specific move in interest rates but we did discuss our general monetary policy stance, which we found accommodative in view of an economic outlook that becomes more uncertain." (Source: Bloomberg)
E.U: Producer-price inflation slowed for a sixth month in March, suggesting companies were unable to pass on higher costs as the economy cooled. Factory-gate prices in the 17-nation euro region rose 3.3% YoY, the weakest annual gain since June 2010, after increasing 3.6% YoY in February. In the month, producer prices rose 0.5% MoM. (Source: Bloomberg)
US: Jobless claims decrease to lowest level in a month
Fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, easing concern the job market was taking a turn for the worse. Jobless claims fell by 27,000 to 365,000 in the week ended 28 April, a one-month low, from a revised 392,000 the prior period, Labor Department figures showed yesterday. The plunge in dismissals makes it more likely that the surge over the past three weeks was caused by the timing of the Easter holiday rather than deterioration in employment. (Bloomberg)
US: Services slowdown signals growth may cool
Service industries in the U.S. expanded less than projected and consumer confidence weakened, signaling the world’s largest economy may be cooling. The Institute for Supply Management said today its non- manufacturing index fell to a four-month low of 53.5 in April from 56 in March. A reading above 50 in the Tempe, Arizona-based group’s gauge signals expansion. (Bloomberg)
U.S: Productivity falls, labor costs rise less than forecast. The productivity of U.S. workers fell in the first quarter, indicating businesses are reaching the limit of how much efficiency they can wring from the workforce. The measure of employee output per hour declined at a 0.5% annual rate after a 1.2% gain in the prior three months. Expenses per worker increased at a 2% rate, less than estimated. (Source: Bloomberg)
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