20120118 0952 Global Economic Related News.

Singapore: Exports unexpectedly rose on pharmaceutical shipments
Singapore’s exports unexpectedly rose in December as pharmaceutical shipments surged, countering a drop in sales of electronics goods. Non-oil domestic exports climbed 9% y-o-y, after a revised 1.4% increase in November, the island’s trade promotion agency said. The advance in overseas sales may be short-lived as Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis curbs demand for Asian goods, with purchasing managers’ indexes in export-dependent economies including Singapore and Taiwan signaling manufacturing is still contracting. Non-oil exports from Singapore may increase 3% to 5% this year, the trade promotion board said in November (Bloomberg)

China: Slowing growth boosts scope for policy easing
China’s economy expanded at the slowest pace in 10 quarters as Europe’s debt crisis curbed export demand and the property market weakened, sustaining pressure on Premier Wen Jiabao to ease monetary policy. GDP rose 8.9% in the fourth quarter y-o-y, the statistics bureau said. Asian stocks rose on speculation policy makers will ease lending curbs and increase fiscal spending to bolster the world’s second-biggest economy. Liang Wengen, China’s richest man and chairman of Sany Heavy Industry Co, told Wen this month that construction-machinery demand is weak and called for more infrastructure investment. (Bloomberg)

EU: Rescue fund sells bills ‘smoothly’ after S&P’s downgrade
The European Financial Stability Facility issued six-month debt for the first time, selling EUR1.5bn (USD1.9 bn) of securities a day after the euro region’s temporary bailout fund lost its top credit rating. The EFSF sold the 182-day bills at an average yield of 0.27%, it said. Investors bid for 3.1x the amount of bills sold, little changed from the 3.2 bid-to-cover ratio at a 13 Dec offering of three-month bills. The facility’s longer-dated bonds underperformed their euro-area peers after the Standard & Poor’s downgrade to AA+ from AAA. (Bloomberg)

EU: IMF to explore options to boost lending resources, Lagarde says
The IMF’s staff will look into options to increase the fund’s lending power, MD Christine Lagarde said, following a discussion among the institution’s board of directors. Officials from the Group of 20 nations have been considering increasing IMF resources, currently at about USD385bn, as a way to support a world economy threatened by the European debt crisis. Euro-region nations have pledged to channel EUR150bn (USD191bn) to the IMF, while the US has said it has no plans to make bilateral loans to the Washington-based institution. (Bloomberg)

UK: Inflation slows as stores discount amid recession talk
UK inflation slowed in December to its weakest pace in six months as stores discounted clothing to boost sales and petrol prices fell, easing pressure on consumers amid concern the economy may already be back in recession. Consumer prices rose an annual 4.2% compared with 4.8% in November and a peak of 5.2% in September, the Office for National Statistics said. It was the biggest drop in the inflation rate since April 2009, the depth of the last recession. Prices rose 0.4% on the month. The Bank of England forecasts inflation will slow sharply this year, providing relief to consumers as the European sovereign debt crisis and rising unemployment weigh on the recovery. (Bloomberg)