20121212 1012 Global Economy Related News.

Indonesia: Holds key rate to shield IDR at three-year low
Indonesia’s central bank held its benchmark rate unchanged for a 10th straight meeting as its currency, near a three-year low, reduces scope for monetary easing. Bank Indonesia Governor Darmin Nasution and his board kept the reference rate at a record low of 5.75%, the central bank said. The decision was predicted by all 21 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. (Bloomberg)

China: New loans trail forecasts in sign of slower growth
China’s new loans trailed forecasts last month, restraining the pace of recovery in the world’s second-biggest economy after a seven-quarter slowdown. Banks extended CNY522.9bn (USD84bn) of local currency loans, the People’s Bank of China said, compared to a RMB550bn median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 30 economists and CNY562.2bn the same month last year. M2, the broadest measure of money supply, rose 13.9% from a year earlier, below the median estimate of 14.1%. (Bloomberg)

Germany: Investor confidence jumps to seven-month high on outlook
German investor confidence jumped more than economists forecasted to a seven-month high in December on speculation that Europe’s largest economy will gather momentum next year. The ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim said its index of investor and analyst expectations, which aims to predict economic developments six months in advance, climbed to 6.9 from -15.7 in November. Economists predicted a gain to -11.5, according to the median of 38 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. (Bloomberg)

US: Trade deficit in the US widens as exports slump
The trade deficit in the US widened in October as the biggest slump in exports in almost four years outweighed a drop in imports, evidence of the slowdown in global growth. The trade gap grew 4.9% to USD42.2bn from a revised USD40.3bn in September that was smaller than previously estimated, the Commerce Department reported. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 70 economists called for the deficit to expand to USD42.7bn. Exports declined 3.6%, the most since January 2009. (Bloomberg)