Thailand: Bank of Thailand raises rates, cites inflation threat
Thailand’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.25% yesterday as expected and signaled further tightening to curb inflationary pressure as the economy grows. The central bank said Thailand’s economy, Southeast Asia’s second largest, would “grow robustly” in 2011 but it highlighted risks from inflation, which it has already said could breach its target at some stage this year. (Financial Daily)
Japan:Current-Account surplus shrank 16% in November
Japan’s current account surplus narrowed for the first time in three months in November after import growth accelerated. The gap shrank 15.7% from a year earlier to JPY926.2bn (USD11bn), the Ministry of Finance said. The median estimate of 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a surplus of JPY972.5bn. Report reinforces economists’ view that Japan’s GDP shrank last quarter for the first time in more than a year. The export-dependent economy has been weakened by a 15% strengthening in the Yen in 2010 and cooler overseas demand as stimulus measures expire. (Bloomberg) India:
Industrial production expansion slows to 2.7%
India’s industrial production grew at the slowest pace in 18 months in November, a deceleration that may not prevent the central bank from raising interest rates this month as surging food prices drive up inflation. Output at factories, utilities and mines rose 2.7% from a year earlier, the government said in a statement in New Delhi, less than the revised 11.3% jump in October when the Hindu festivals of Dussehra and Diwali boosted demand for goods. The median estimate of 30 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 6.6% gain. (Bloomberg)
Australia: Inflation Risk Seen in Tomato Price Jump
Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens can glimpse the inflation threat he faces from the nation’s floods at the produce shop near his suburban Sydney home in Sylvania Waters. Tomato prices soared 20% in the past week and bananas, grapes and sweet potatoes are up 10%. The crisis may force the RBA to accept higher inflation in coming months as the floods spur food and commodity costs and slow growth in a disaster zone the size of Egypt. Australian inflation-linked bonds rallied the most in more than five years as the damage, along with future rebuilding in a country already near full employment, risked stoking consumer prices. (Bloomberg)
EU: Germany’s 2010 growth fastest since reunification
Germany’s economy rebounded last year at its fastest pace since reunification but consumer spending stayed modest, leaving analysts and other Eurozone states hoping a more balanced recovery would take hold this year. GDP grew by 3.6%, preliminary Federal Statistics Office data showed, bouncing back from a 4.7% slump – it’s steepest since World War II – in 2009. The figure matched the mid-range forecast in a Reuters poll of 22 economists. (Financial Daily)
US: Import prices in US rise 1.1%, led by fuels, food
The cost of goods imported into the US rose in December, led by higher prices for commodities such as fuels and food. The 1.1% increase in the import-price index followed a revised 1.5% gain in November, Labor Department figures showed. Economists projected a 1.2% gain for December, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Import prices climbed 0.3% excluding fuel, with little change in the costs of automobiles and consumer goods. Rising demand from emerging markets like China, along with a weaker dollar, is driving up the cost of commodities. With unemployment stuck above 9%, companies are finding limited scope to raise finished goods prices, allowing the Federal Reserve to complete a second round of monetary easing to stimulate the economy. (Bloomberg)
No comments:
Post a Comment