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JAPAN INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT CLIMBS 4.2% IN JANUARY

Industrial production in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 4.2 percent on month in January, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Friday.

That beat expectations for an increase of 4.0 percent following the 1.0 percent decline in December.

On a yearly basis, industrial production dropped 5.3 percent - roughly in line with forecasts after slipping 2.6 percent in the previous month.

Upon the release of the data, the METI upgraded its assessment of industrial production, saying that it is now picking up.

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CHINA MANUFACTURING PMI SLOWS IN FEBRUARY - CAIXIN



The manufacturing sector in China continued to expand in February, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Caixin showed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 50.9.

That's down from 51.5 in January, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Individually, output expanded modestly amid a softer rise in new work as the pandemic weighed on export sales and supplier performance.

Greater prices for raw materials and higher transport costs led to a further substantial rise in input costs. As a result, prices charged by manufacturers rose solidly as companies looked to partially pass on higher cost burdens to customers.

Business confidence improved on hopes for a global economic recovery in the months ahead.

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CHINA SERVICES SECTOR SLOWS IN FEBRUARY - CAIXIN



The services sector in China continued to expand in February, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Caixin showed on Wednesday with a services PMI score of 51.5.

That's down from 52.0 in January, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Service providers indicated that business activity rose in line with new work. Total new orders increased modestly overall, with the rate of growth likewise easing to a ten-month low. While a number of firms commented on firmer client demand, there were reports that the recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases globally had dampened sales growth.

Although employment fell, there seemed little pressure on operating capacities in February.

The survey also showed that the composite index fell from 52.2 in January to 51.7 in February.

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Denmark Jobless Rate Steady In January

Denmark's jobless rate remain stable in January, figures from Statistics Denmark showed on Thursday.

The gross unemployment rate was a seasonally adjusted 4.4 percent in January, same as seen in December.

The gross unemployment rose by 1,300 to 126,700 in January from 125,500 in the preceding month, the agency said.

The youth jobless rate, which is applicable to the 16 to 24 age group, remained unchanged at 1.9 percent in January.

Based on the LFS data, the number of unemployed persons was 182,000 in January.

 

DOLLAR GAINS AGAINST OTHER MAJOR CURRENCIES



The U.S. Dollar turned stronger against most of its peers on Thursday after the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell commented that he does not consider the sell-off in U.S. bonds as a "disorderly" move.

Continued optimism about a quick economic recovery aided dollar's surge. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield moved past 1.5% on Powell's comment that inflation could see a jump.

Speaking during The Wall Street Journal Jobs Summit, Powell acknowledged the reopening of the economy could "create some upward pressure on prices."

However, Powell suggested the increase in the annual rate of inflation would largely reflect comparisons to the low prices seen a year ago.

The Fed chief said he expects the increase in inflation to be "transitory" and stressed there is "a lot of ground to cover" before price growth reaches a sustainable level above the Fed's 2% target.

Data released by the Labor Department this morning showed initial jobless claims inched up to 745,000 in the week ended February 27th, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level of 736,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 750,000 from the 730,000 originally reported for the previous week.

A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed a bigger than expected increase in new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in the month of January.

The dollar index rose to 91.67, hitting a three-month high, and was last seen at 91.60, up more than 0.7% from previous close.

Against the Euro, the dollar firmed up to $1.1972, gaining 0.75% from $1.2063.

The Pound Sterling weakened by nearly 0.4%, fetching $1.3896 per unit, compared to Wednesday's close of $1.3949.

The Yen was at 107.95 a dollar, about 0.85% down from previous close of 107.02 a dollar.

Against the Aussie, the dollar was stronger at 0.7724, gaining more than 0.6% from 0.7775.

The Swiss Franc weakened to 0.9293, losing more than 1% from 0.9199, while the Loonie was down at 1.2670, compared to 1.2655 on Wednesday.

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EUROPEAN ECONOMICS PREVIEW: GERMANY INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION DATA DUE



Industrial production data from Germany and investor confidence survey results from euro area are due on Monday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 1.45 am ET, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs is scheduled to release Swiss unemployment data for February. The jobless rate is seen at 3.6 percent, up from 3.5 percent in January.

At 2.00 am ET, Destatis is slated to issue Germany's industrial production data for January. Economists forecast output to grow 0.2 percent on month after staying flat in December.

In the meantime, industrial output figures are due from Norway and Denmark.

At 3.00 am ET, Spain's INE publishes industrial production figures for January. Output is expected to drop 0.7 percent on year, following a 0.6 percent fall in December.

At 4.30 am ET, Eurozone Sentix investor confidence survey results are due. Economists forecast the sentiment index to rise to 1.9 in March from -0.2 in February.

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AUSTRALIA NAB BUSINESS CONFIDENCE IMPROVES IN FEBRUARY



Australia's business confidence and conditions improved in February, survey results from the National Australia Bank showed Tuesday.

The business confidence index advanced to 16 from 12 in January. This was the highest reading since early 2010. The gain in confidence was broadly based, with all states and industries recording an increase - except retail.

With trading, profitability and employment conditions marking solid improvements, the business conditions index bounced to return to 15 points from 9 a month ago. A similar score was last seen in December and was the highest since August 2018.

Conditions remained very strong in retail, wholesale, mining and professional services, while construction, personal services and transport conditions continue to lag.

The survey continues to point to a robust recovery in the business sector, despite some tapering of government support beginning in late 2020, the NAB said. This is a positive sign for the economy, where ongoing strength in the business and household sector is needed to sustain the recovery.

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CHINA CONSUMER PRICES EASE 0.2% ON YEAR IN FEBRUARY



Consumer prices in China were down 0.2 percent on year in February, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.

That exceeded expectations for a decline of 0.4 percent and was up from -0.3 percent in the previous month.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices climbed 0.6 percent - again beating forecasts for a gain of 0.4 percent but down from 1.0 percent a month earlier.

The bureau also said that producer prices were up 1.7 percent on year - exceeding expectations for an increase of 1.5 percent and up sharply from 0.3 percent in January.

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JAPAN PRODUCER PRICES RISE 0.4% ON MONTH IN FEBRUARY



Producer prices in Japan were up 0.4 percent on month in February, the Bank of Japan said on Thursday.

That was shy of expectations for an increase of 0.5 percent and was unchanged from the January reading.

On a yearly basis, producer prices sank 0.7 percent - in line with expectations following the 1.6 percent decline in the previous month.

Export prices were up 1.4 percent on month and 0.3 percent on year, the bank said, while import prices jumped 4.1 percent on month but lost 3.5 percent on year.

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MALAYSIA INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION GROWTH SLOWS IN JANUARY



Malaysia's industrial production rose at a softer pace in January, data from the Department of Statistics showed on Friday.

Industrial production rose 1.2 percent year-on-year in January, after a 1.7 percent increase in December. Economists had expected a 0.7 percent rise.

The growth in production was mainly driven by a rise in production of manufacturing industry.

Manufacturing output gained 3.5 percent yearly in January, after a 4.1 percent increase in the previous month.

Among other sectors, the mining and quarrying output decreased 4.5 percent and electricity output fell 4.6 percent.

On a monthly basis, industrial production rose 0.1 percent in January.

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JAPAN CORE MACHINE ORDERS SLIP 4.5% ON MONTH IN JANUARY



The value of core machine orders in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 4.5 percent on month in January, the Cabinet Office said on Monday - coming in at 2,397.4 billion yen.

That exceeded expectations for a decline of 5.5 percent following the upwardly revised 5.3 percent increase in December (originally 5.2 percent).

On a yearly basis, core machine orders climbed 1.5 percent - again beating forecasts for a decline of 0.2 percent after spiking 11.8 percent in the previous month.

The forecast for Q1 2021 core machine orders suggests a decline of 6.0 percent on quarter and 5.2 percent on year.

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AUSTRALIA HOUSE PRICE INDEX CLIMBS 3.0% IN Q4



The house price index in Australia was up 3.0 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2020, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.

That beat forecasts for an increase of 2.0 percent following the 0.8 percent increase in the previous three months.

On a yearly basis, the house price index gained 3.6 percent, slowing from 4.5 percent in the three months prior.

The total value of residential dwellings in Australia rose A$257.9 billion to A$7,724.4 billion in Q4.

The mean price of residential dwellings rose A$21,300 to A$728,500, while the number of residential dwellings rose by 44,100 to 10,602,700.

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SINGAPORE NON-OIL EXPORTS JUMP 8.2% ON MONTH IN FEBRUARY



The value of non-oil domestic exports in Singapore jumped a seasonally adjusted 8.2 percent on month in February, Statistics Singapore said on Wednesday.

That beat forecasts for a decline of 1.0 percent following the downwardly revised 6.9 percent increase in January (originally 7.0 percent).

On a yearly basis, exports gained 4.2 percent - shy of expectations for 6.6 percent following the downwardly revised 12.7 percent increase in the previous month (originally 12.8 percent).

Total trade was down 3.3 percent on year after slipping 1.9 percent in January. It was up 6.0 percent on month after rising 5.7 percent in January.

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EUROPEAN ECONOMICS PREVIEW: BANK OF ENGLAND MONETARY POLICY ANNOUNCEMENT DUE



The monetary policy announcement is due from the Bank of England on Thursday, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.

The central bank is expected to keep its interest rate unchanged at 0.10 percent and to maintain the size of quantitative easing at GBP 895 billion. The announcement is due at 7.00 am ET.

Other major economic reports due for the day are as follows

At 3.30 am ET, the Federal Statistical Office is scheduled to release Swiss producer prices for February. Prices had decreased 2.1 percent on year in January.

At 4.30 am ET, Italy's Istat publishes foreign trade data for January. Also, industrial production and producer prices are due from Poland. Poland's industrial output is forecast to grow 3.9 percent annually and producer prices to gain 1.3 percent on year in February.

In the meantime, Norges Bank announces its interest rate decision.

At 6.00 am ET, Eurostat publishes foreign trade data. The trade surplus is expected to fall to EUR 25.3 billion in January from EUR 29.2 billion in December. At 7.00 am ET, Turkey's central bank announces its interest rate decision. The bank is expected to raise its one-week repo rate to 18.00 percent from 17.00 percent.

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AUSTRALIA RETAIL SALES SINK 1.1% IN FEBRUARY



The total value of retail sales in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent on month in February, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday - coming in at A$30.192 billion.

That missed expectations for an increase of 0.4 percent following the 0.3 percent gain in January.

By industry, food retailing led the falls, down 3 percent. All states and territories saw a fall in Food retailing, although the industry remains 6.5 percent above the levels of February 2020.

On a yearly basis, retail sales were up 8.7 percent.

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CHINA LEAVES BENCHMARK LENDING RATES UNCHANGED



China left its benchmark lending rates unchanged, as widely expected, on Monday. The one-year loan prime rate was retained at 3.85 percent and the five-year loan prime rate was maintained at 4.65 percent.

The one-year and five-year loan prime rates were last lowered in April 2020. The one-year loan prime rate was cut by 20 basis points and five-year rate by 10 basis points in April.

The inaction did not come as a surprise since the People's Bank of China had not adjusted the rate on its medium-term lending facility this month as it did ahead of the past three LPR moves, Julian Evans-Pritchard and Sheana Yue, economists at Capital Economics, said.

The scope for hiking rates this year is diminishing. The PBOC appears to favor quantitative controls on lending instead, they noted. Either way, credit conditions are set to be less favorable this year.

The loan prime rate is fixed monthly based on the submission of 18 banks, though Beijing has influence over the rate-setting. This new lending rate replaced the central bank's traditional benchmark lending rate in August 2019.

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NEW ZEALAND CREDIT CARD SPENDING DATA DUE ON TUESDAY



New Zealand will on Tuesday release February figures for credit card spending, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. In January, card spending was down 10.6 percent on year.

Singapore will provide February numbers for consumer prices. In January, overall inflation was flat on month and up 0.2 percent on year, while core CPI fell an annual 0.2 percent.

Taiwan will see February figures for industrial production and retail sales; in January, they were up 18.81 percent and 3.56 percent, respectively.

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JAPAN MANUFACTURING PMI CLIMBS TO 52.0 IN FEBRUARY - JIBUN



The manufacturing sector in Japan continued to expand in March, and at a slightly faster pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank showed on Wednesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 52.0.

That's up from 51.4 in February and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Output growth softened slightly, although new orders expanded at their fastest pace since October 2018. But job shedding persisted and sentiment eased to a nine-month low. Japan's services PMI came in at 46.5, up from 45.8 in February, while the composite index had a score of 48.3 - up from 48.2 in the previous month.

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HONG KONG TRADE DATA DUE ON THURSDAY



Hong Kong will on Thursday release February figures for imports, exports and trade balance, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity.

In January, imports were up 37.7 percent on year and exports surged an annual 44 percent for a trade deficit of HKD25.2 billion.


Thailand will provide February numbers for industrial production, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.6 percent on year following the 2.8 percent contraction in January.

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HONG KONG TRADE DATA DUE ON THURSDAY



Hong Kong will on Thursday release February figures for imports, exports and trade balance, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity.

In January, imports were up 37.7 percent on year and exports surged an annual 44 percent for a trade deficit of HKD25.2 billion.


Thailand will provide February numbers for industrial production, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.6 percent on year following the 2.8 percent contraction in January.

News are provided by
InstaForex.