Singapore: Inflation accelerates more than estimated to 5.2%
Singapore’s inflation accelerated more than economists estimated in March, justifying the central bank’s decision to tighten monetary policy this month. The consumer price index rose 5.2% from a year earlier, after climbing 4.6% in February, the Department of Statistics said in a statement yesterday. That exceeded the predictions of 17 of 18 economists in a Bloomberg News survey, where the median estimate was for a 4.7% increase. The core inflation rate was 2.9% in March. (Bloomberg)
Australia: Producer prices unexpectedly fell last quarter
Prices paid by Australian producers unexpectedly fell last quarter for the first time in more than two years, weakening the local currency and raising bets the central bank will cut interest rates next week. The producer price index dropped 0.3% in the January-to-March period from the prior quarter, when it gained 0.3%, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney yesterday. The median estimate of 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 0.4% increase, with only one predicting a decline. The index rose 1.4% in the first quarter from a year earlier, less than the median forecast of 2.2%. (Bloomberg)
EU: Euro-Region debt rises to highest in single currency history
The debt of the euro region rose last year to the highest since the start of the single currency as governments increased borrowing to plug budget deficits and fund bailouts of fellow nations crippled by the fiscal crisis. The debt of the 17 euro nations climbed to 87.2% of gross domestic product in 2011 from 85.3% the previous year, official European Union figures showed yesterday. That’s the highest since the euro was introduced in 1999. Greece topped the list with debt at 165.3% of GDP, while Estonia had the least at 6% of GDP. (Bloomberg)
EU: ECB rejects Geithner-IMF push for further crisis measures
European Central Bank officials led by President Mario Draghi resisted calls from the International Monetary Fund and US Treasury to do more to stem the debt crisis roiling the euro-area economy. As talks of global finance chiefs ended yesterday in Washington, euro-area central bankers from Draghi to Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann argued they have done enough by cutting interest rates and issuing more long-term bank loans. Officials in Europe and around the world are bickering about additional crisis-calming steps, as turmoil returns to the continent’s bond market amid concern that Spain may need a bailout. (Bloomberg)
EU: Spanish GDP contracts for second quarter, Bank of Spain says
Spain’s economy contracted in the first quarter, entering its second recession since 2009 that threatens the nation’s deficit goals. The economy contracted 0.4% in the first quarter, the Bank of Spain said, after shrinking 0.3% in the previous three months. Gross domestic product fell 0.5% from a year ago, the Bank of Spain said, citing estimates based on data that are still incomplete. The National Statistics Institute publishes its first estimate on 30 April. (Bloomberg)
EU: Italian consumer confidence falls to record low on recession
Italian consumer confidence plunged to the lowest in more than 15 years in April as Prime Minister Mario Monti’s austerity drive deepens the recession in Europe’s fourth-biggest economy. The confidence index declined to 89, the lowest since the series began in 1996, from a revised 96.3 in March, national statistics office Istat said in Rome yesterday. Economists forecast a reading of 96.2, according to the median of 12 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. (Bloomberg)
US stocks join global selloff amid Europe’s political concern
US stocks joined a global selloff as political uncertainty in France and the Netherlands intensified concern about Europe’s sovereign debt crisis. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.8% to 1,366.94, near its highest level of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 102.09 points, or 0.8%, to 12,927.17. The Russell 2000 Index retreated 1.5% to 791.85. About 6.6bn shares changed hands on US exchanges, or 2.5% below the three-month average. (Bloomberg)
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