Malaysia’s industrial production growth eased in October as slowing global demand led mining companies to decrease output. Production at factories, utilities and mines gained 2.8% from a year earlier after rising a revised 3% in September, the statistics department said yesterday. Manufacturing output gained 6.2% in October from a year earlier, easing from a revised 8.9% increase in the previous month, the report showed. Mining fell 5.7 %, while electricity production increased 1.9%. Manufacturing sales rose 11.4% in October from a year earlier, easing from a revised 16.4% gain in September, the statistics department said. (Bloomberg)
The manufacturing sales rose 11.4% yoy to RM51.3bn in Oct (16.4% in Sep). On a mom basis, the sales increased by 1% (1.6% in Sep). In 10M11, it rose by 11.3% to RM492.5bn. Total employees engaged in the manufacturing sector increased 1.5% yoy to 1,005,297 in Oct (2.4% in Sep). Salaries & wages paid in Oct rose 3.8% yoy to RM2.3bn (7.7% in Sep). Average salaries & wages paid per employee up 2.2% yoy to RM2,286 in Oct (5.2% in Sep). Productivity jumped 9.7% yoy to RM51,024 in Oct (13.7% in Sep). (Department of Statistics)
Japanese bank lending rose 0.2% yoy in Nov (-0.0% in Oct), the Bank of Japan said. Excluding factors such as loan write-offs, the loan balance rose 0.5% yoy, the BOJ said. (Reuters)
Japan's current account surplus fell 62.4% yoy in Oct (-21.4% in Sep) as the nation slipped into a trade deficit on weak exports, government data showed. Economists expected a drop of 66.8%. (AFP)
Japan's core private-sector machinery orders fell 6.9% mom in Oct (+8.2% in Sep), official data showed. Economists had expected core orders would rise 0.1%. (AFP)
The Bank of Korea kept its 7-day repo rate unchanged at 3.25% for a sixth month, as expected by economists. (Bloomberg)
India’s local car sales rose to 171,131 units in Nov, a 23.5% mom increase and a 7.0% yoy gain. However the recovery is insufficient for the industry to meet its modest forecast of 2%-4% growth in car sales for this financial year through Mar. (Bloomberg, WSJ)
India’s food inflation, based on the wholesale price index, eased to 6.60% yoy in the week ended 26 Nov, compared with 8.00% in the previous week. The flooding in Thailand has taken its toll on the Philippine automotive industry, with vehicle sales falling by 1.9% yoy to 131,242 units in 11M11 from 133,739 units a year ago. Vehicle sales in Nov dropped by 10.4% yoy to 12,090 units. (Philippine Daily Enquirer)
Indonesia: Pauses interest-rate cuts after currency decline
Indonesia’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged, pausing after cutting borrowing costs in the previous two meetings to assess the inflation risk as the rupiah falls. Governor Darmin Nasution and his board kept the reference rate at 6%, Bank Indonesia said in a statement yesterday. The nation’s currency has slumped more than 5% in the past three months, the third-worst performer in Asia, threatening to push up imported inflation even as the protracted European debt crisis hurts global growth. (Bloomberg)
Thailand: Consumer confidence declines to lowest since 2001
Thailand’s consumer confidence slumped to the lowest level in more than a decade in November, hurt by the impact of the worst flooding in almost 70 years. An index measuring sentiment declined to 61.0 from 62.8 in October, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said in a statement yesterday. That’s the lowest since September 2001, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The gauge is based on a survey of 2,258 respondents. The Bank of Thailand last week cut interest rates for the first time in more than two years after the inundation shut thousands of factories and triggered a slump in industrial output. (Bloomberg)
Eurozone: EU loans to IMF may open door to assistance from Brazil, China
An agreement by European Union leaders to boost the International Monetary Fund’s resources may open the door to similar loans by nations from South Korea to Brazil in a global effort to stem the European debt crisis. European leaders meeting in Brussels may agree to make bilateral loans to the IMF of as much as EUR200bn (USD267bn), an EU diplomat said yesterday. Such a move may draw aid from the Group of 20 nations, which held back last month because they said Europe wasn’t doing enough to help itself. (Bloomberg)
Eurozone: ECB cuts key rate to 1%, may dig Into toolbox as recession looms
The European Central Bank cut interest rates for a second straight month and may delve even deeper into its toolbox today to stimulate bank lending and fight off a recession. ECB policy makers meeting in Frankfurt lowered the benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 1% to match a record low. They may also loosen the collateral criteria to give banks greater access to cheap cash and offer longer-term loans, said three euro-area officials with knowledge of the deliberations. (Bloomberg)
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi offered banks unlimited cash for three years while steering clear of any signal the ECB will buy more bonds to stem the region’s debt crisis. The ECB pledged for the first time to offer banks unlimited cash for three years and loosened the collateral rules it imposes when lending to financial institutions. The measures “should ensure enhanced access of the banking sector to liquidity,” Draghi said. (Bloomberg)
US: Drop in jobless claims a sign job market is on the mend
Fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, reflecting a drop in firings that may signal the job market is on the mend. Jobless claims fell by 23,000 to 381,000 in the week ended 3 Dec, the fewest since February, Labor Department figures showed yesterday. Other data showed consumer sentiment has stabilized around levels usually associated with recessions, and wholesalers boosted inventories heading into the holidays. A decrease in firings may foreshadow bigger gains in hiring that will help Americans gain enough confidence in the economic recovery to sustain the pickup in holiday spending into 2012. (Bloomberg)
U.S. consumer credit increased by US$7.65bn to US$2.46tr in Oct (US$2.45tr in Sep), the most since Oct 09, Federal Reserve figures showed. Economists projected a US$7bn gain. (Bloomberg)
US wholesale inventories rose 1.6% in Oct (no change in Sep), Commerce Department figures showed. Economists projected a 0.3% gain in stockpiles. (Bloomberg)
US stocks decline as ECB President damps bond-buy speculation
US stocks fell, snapping a three-day gain, as the European Central Bank damped speculation it would boost debt purchases and amid a report Germany rejected some proposals to fight the crisis at a summit of EU leaders. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index retreated 2.1% to 1,234.35 as 487 out of 500 stocks declined. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 198.67 points, or 1.6%, to 11,997.70. The Russell 2000 Index of small companies tumbled 3.1% to 722.68. (Bloomberg)
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