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| As on Jan 20, 2021 12:00 AM |
Your results on : Currency News |
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| The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated in a latest update yesterday that the global uncertainty reached unprecedented levels at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak and remains elevated. The World Uncertainty Index—a quarterly measure of global economic and policy uncertainty covering 143 countries—shows that although uncertainty has come down by about 60 percent from the peak observed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter of 2020, it remains about 50 percent above its historical average during the 1996-2010 period. Powered by Commodity Insights |
| Eurozone inflation stayed negative for the fifth straight month in December, as initially estimated, final data from Eurostat showed Tuesday. The harmonized consumer price index, or HICP, fell 0.3% year-on-year, the same as in November, and in line with flash estimate. The core inflation that excludes prices of food, energy and alcohol & tobacco, was steady at 0.2% in December. Powered by Commodity Insights |
UK consumer price inflation doubled to 0.6 percent in December from 0.3 percent in November, data released by the Office for National Statistics showed on Wednesday. Month-on-month, consumer prices advanced 0.3 percent, reversing a 0.1 percent drop in November. Prices were forecast to rise 0.2 percent. Excluding energy, food, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, core inflation increased to 1.4 percent from 1.1 percent in November. Core inflation was seen rising to 1.3 percent. Another report from the ONS showed that output prices dropped for the tenth consecutive month in December. However, the pace of decrease was slowest since March 2020. Powered by Commodity Insights |
Germany's producer price index rose 0.2 percent year-on-year in December, after a 0.5 percent decrease in November, data from Destatis showed on Wednesday. Excluding energy, producer prices rose 0.3 percent annually in December. Energy prices fell 0.1 percent. Among other components, durable consumer goods prices gained 1.6 percent annually in December. Prices for capital goods and intermediate goods surged 0.9 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, prices of non-durable consumer goods fell 1.8 percent. On a monthly basis, producer prices rose 0.8 percent in December, following a 0.2 percent increase in the previous month Powered by Commodity Insights |
| China kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Wednesday. The one-year loan prime rate was retained at 3.85% while the five-year loan prime rate was maintained at 4.65%. The one-year and five-year loan prime rates were last cut in April 2020. The one-year loan prime rate was cut by 20 basis points and five-year rate by 10 basis points back then. Powered by Commodity Insights |
| The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva stated yesterday that the world cannot afford to withdraw support prematurely and it is important that governments within their fiscal space, within their capacity, and on the needs of their economies, ensure a recovery. Magdalena Andersson, Chair of International Monetary and Financial Committee, stated that the need for liquidity in the world economy is very big and will continue to be big for quite some time ahead. About a year ago, the IMF forecasts indicated that the world economy would grow by more than 3% in 2020. And then the pandemic hit and in its latest forecast, the IMF adjusted the expected global growth for 2020 to -4.4%. This is a much sharper contraction than during the 2008 global financial crisis, she noted. During this crisis, countries have responded with extraordinary fiscal support. Without this response, more people would have been unemployed, more firms would have gone bankrupt. The global economy would have been in an even worse situation. Powered by Commodity Insights |
The International Monetary Fund, in the Article IV Consultation report released Tuesday said that the economic recovery in the biggest euro area economy would be choppy and unevenly distributed across sectors, and with quarterly swings conditioned by volatile infection dynamics through early 2021. Germany's economy is set to grow 3.5 percent this year after a 5.4 percent contraction in the coronavirus-hit 2020, IMF stated. The recovery should firm up once there is wide distribution of effective vaccines, but output is not expected to return to its pre-crisis level until 2022, the report said. Germany's export dependence and financial openness also make it vulnerable to shocks to external demand, the lender said. Longstanding challenges related to population aging, infrastructure gaps and an impending green energy transition will be compounded by structural changes ushered in by the pandemic, the IMF added. The unemployment rate is forecast to rise to 4.3 percent from 4.2 percent. The budget deficit is projected to narrow to 3.4 percent of GDP this year from 6.3 percent last year. Powered by Commodity Insights |
Australia consumer confidence took a hit in January, the latest survey from Westpac Bank revealed on Wednesday with a consumer confidence index score of 107.0. That's down from 112.0 in December, although it remains above the line of 100 that separates optimism from pessimism. The January reading represents a 4.5 percent monthly drop following the 4.1 percent increase in the previous month. Powered by Commodity Insights |
| Economic sentiment in Germany rose in January, the ZEW economic research institute said on Tuesday. The survey of investors' economic sentiment increased to 61.8 from 55.0 points the previous month, ZEW said. Despite the uncertainty about the further course of the lockdown, the economic outlook for the German economy has improved slightly. Powered by Commodity Insights |
Euro area current account surplus fell to EUR 25 billion in November from EUR 26 billion in October, the European Central Bank reported Tuesday. The surplus totaled EUR 24 billion in the same period last year. The visible trade surplus remained unchanged at EUR 34 billion and the services trade surplus held steady at EUR 9 billion. Primary income rose to EUR 1 billion from -EUR 5 billion a month ago. Meanwhile, secondary income declined to -EUR 20 billion from -EUR 12 billion in October. During twelve months to November, the current account surplus totaled EUR 231 billion or 2.0 percent of euro area GDP, down from EUR 278 billion or 2.3 percent a year earlier. At the same time, in twelve months ended November, the financial account surplus dropped to EUR 221 billion from EUR 229 billion in the same period last year. Powered by Commodity Insights |
| Germany's consumer prices declined in December, as initially estimated, final data from Destatis showed on Tuesday. The consumer price index dropped 0.3% on year-on-year basis in December, same as seen in November. Energy price inflation fell to 6% in December. Excluding energy prices, inflation was 0.4%. On a monthly basis, consumer prices moved up 0.5% in December, as initially estimated. Powered by Commodity Insights |
Europe's new car registrations were down 3.3 percent on a yearly basis in December, but slower than the 12 percent fall logged in November, data published by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, or ACEA, showed on Tuesday. Data showed that the four largest EU markets reported very different results. Sales in Italy declined 14.9 percent and that in France slid 11.8 percent. Meanwhile, Germany registered a robust growth of 9.9 percent and Spain's sales remained stable. In the whole year of 2020, the market recorded its biggest yearly drop in demand since records began. EU passenger car market contracted 23.7 percent to 9.9 million units as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic. All 27 EU markets recorded double-digit declines throughout 2020. Powered by Commodity Insights |
| The German economy is likely to stay afloat but could suffer a sizeable setback if coronavirus curbs are extended again, the Bundesbank said on Monday. If infections failed to ease significantly and current restrictions on economic activity were to persist or even be tightened, there could be a sizeable setback, the Bundesbank said in its monthly update, according to media reports. The Bundesbank said the economy likely stagnated but did not shrink in the last 3 months of 2020 as a rebound in industry and construction made up for a slump in hospitality and retail. Powered by Commodity Insights |
New Zealand total retail card spending grew 3.5 percent year-on-year in December, which was faster than the 1.4 percent annual growth posted in November, Statistics New Zealand reported Tuesday. At the same time, actual card spending using electronic cards climbed 4.3 percent or NZ$20 billion. Retail spending rose in four of the six industries in December. Spending on groceries and liquor had the largest retail industry rise, up 7.5 percent. Spending on long-lasting goods advanced 6.7 percent. Powered by Commodity Insights |
UK house prices declined at a faster pace in January before the stamp duty holiday ends, the property website Rightmove said Monday. As new sellers still hope to tempt buyers and squeeze in a sale before the stamp duty holiday ends, house prices dropped 0.9 percent on month in January, after easing 0.6 percent in December. On a yearly basis, growth in house prices halved to 3.3 percent from 6.6 percent in December. Powered by Commodity Insights |
| Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed today that China's industrial production rose an annual 7.3% in December, up from 7% in November. China's Retail sales gained an annual 4.6% last month, down from 6% in the previous month. China's Fixed asset investment gained 2.9% year to date in December, up from 2.6% in November. The growth was 0.3 percentage points higher than that recorded in the first 11 months last year, NBS data showed. On a month-on-month basis, the country's fixed-asset investment climbed 2.32% in December in 2020. Powered by Commodity Insights |
Japan's industrial production dropped 0.5 percent month-on-month in November, in contrast to October's 4 percent increase, final data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed on Monday. This was the first fall in six months. Shipments fell 1.2 percent, in contrast to previous month's 4.9 percent increase. The rate was revised from -0.9 percent estimated previously. Inventories were down 1.5 percent, bigger than the preliminary estimate of -1.1 percent but slower than the 1.8 percent drop seen a month ago. The inventory ratio came in at -2.2 percent versus -3.3 percent in October and the preliminary estimate of -1.8 percent. On a yearly basis, industrial production decreased 3.9 percent, data showed. Powered by Commodity Insights |
US retail sales fell by 0.7 percent in December after tumbling by a revised 1.4 percent in November, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday. The continued decrease in retail sales reflected steep drops in sales by non-store retailers, electronics and appliance stores, food service and drinking places and department stores. On the other hand, sales by gas stations spiked by 6.6 percent amid an increase in prices, while sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers jumped by 1.9 percent. Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales plunged by 1.4 percent in December after slumping by 1.3 percent in November. Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, also plummeted by 1.9 percent in December after tumbling by 1.1 percent in November. Powered by Commodity Insights |
US industrial production surged up by 1.6 percent in December after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.5 percent in November, the Federal Reserve reported on Friday. The spike in production came as utilities output soared by 6.2 percent in December after plunging by 4.5 percent in November, with demand for heating rebounding after an unseasonably warm month. The report said manufacturing output also climbed by 0.9 percent in December following a 0.8 percent increase in November. Mining output also showed another notable increase, jumping by 1.6 percent in December after surging up by 2.8 percent in November. Powered by Commodity Insights |
US consumer sentiment index dipped to 79.2 in January after jumping to 80.7 in December, preliminary data released by the University of Michigan on Friday showed. The report said the current economic conditions index fell to 87.7 in January from 90.0 in December, while the index of consumer expectations slipped to 73.8 from 74.6. Powered by Commodity Insights |
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