Malaysia: BNM raises interest rates, reserve ratio to tame prices
Malaysia raised interest rates for the first time this year and asked banks to set aside more cash as reserves for a second time, joining India in stepping up the fight against inflation amid surging oil and food prices. Bank Negara Malaysia increased its benchmark overnight policy rate to 3% from 2.75%, it said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. The statutory reserve requirement level will rise to 3% from 2% effective 16 May. Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, the first to raise rates in Asia last year as the region led a recovery from the global recession, is resuming increases after pausing since July as inflation accelerated to a 23-month high. India boosted borrowing costs this week for the ninth time since mid-March of 2010 as rising prices force nations to tighten monetary policy at the risk of slowing growth. (Bloomberg)
Indonesia: GDP growth slows, increasing scope to hold rate
Indonesia’s economic growth slowed last quarter as government spending eased, boosting scope to extend a pause in interest-rate increases after inflation cooled. Gross domestic product rose 6.5% in the three months through March from a year earlier, the Central Bureau of Statistics said in Jakarta yesterday. It gained 6.89% in the prior quarter, according to previously reported data. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono aims to expand the economy at an annual average rate of 6.6%, partly by boosting investment in roads, railways and ports. (Bloomberg)
Hong Kong: Home sales fall to 2-year low on curbs, rates
Hong Kong home sales fell to the lowest volume in more than two years in April as government curbs and rising mortgage rates sapped demand after a price surge since 2009. The number of units that changed hands last month declined 37.6% from a year earlier to 7,635, according to a statement on the Land Registry website yesterday. The value of transactions slid 26.8% from a year earlier to HKD39bn (USD5bn), the biggest yearly drop since June 2010, according to the release. (Bloomberg)
UK: BOE holds interest rate at 0.5% on signs recovery Is fading
The Bank of England kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low as signs the recovery is losing momentum kept a majority of policy makers focused on stimulating growth during the government’s fiscal squeeze. The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee held the key rate at 0.5%. The economy stalled over the fourth and first quarters, and surveys this week showed services, manufacturing and construction growth moderated in April. (Bloomberg)
US: Jobless claims unexpectedly jump on one-time events
The number of claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, pushed up by auto-plant shutdowns and other unusual events that seasonal variations failed to take into account, the Labor Department said. Applications for jobless benefits jumped by 43,000 to 474,000 in the week ended April 30, the most since August, Labor Department figures showed to yesterday. A spring break holiday in New York, a new emergency benefits program in Oregon and auto shutdowns caused by the disaster in Japan were the main reasons for the surge, a Labor Department spokesman said as the data was released to the press. (Bloomberg)
US: Consumer confidence falls as fuel costs rise
Consumer confidence dropped last week to the lowest level in more than a month as rising fuel costs squeezed American household budgets. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index decreased to minus 46.2 in the week ended 1 May, the lowest level since the end of March, from minus 45.1 the prior period. Stocks dropped and Treasury securities rose on concern that rising expenses, including the highest gasoline prices in almost three years, may prompt companies and households to cut back on spending. (Bloomberg)
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