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China Industrial Profits Dip For Third Month Amid Economic Slowdown
China's industrial firms reported a decline in their profits for the third month in a row as slowing economy dampened demand, the latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed Friday.
Profits declined 1.7 percent year-on-year in June to CNY 468.2 billion. This followed a 5.3 percent drop in May and 2.2 percent fall in April.
For the first six months of the year, profits dipped 2.2 percent annually to CNY 2.31 trillion. Total industrial revenue for the first half was 11.3 percent higher than the same period last year.
Official data showed this month that growth in China's industrial production slowed to 9.5 percent in June from 9.6 percent in May. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said this week that the foundation for stable industrial performance is fragile and downward pressures still remain.
China's economic growth eased to 7.6 percent in the second quarter, logging the weakest growth rate since the first quarter of 2009.
The International Monetary Fund expects China's economic growth to moderate to around 8 percent this year. The Fund has warned that China faces significant downside to its economic outlook, mainly due to weak global economic conditions.
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Yen Strengthens Against Majors
The Japanese yen edged higher in early Asian deals Friday as disappointing central banks actions propelled another round of safe-haven buying.
Market participants across the globe were expecting some strong measures from the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday and the ECB president Mario Draghi yesterday. Both central bankers failed to deliver any concrete measures to shield the struggling economies.
Risk-averse traders stepped up safe-haven buying, lifting the yen to an 8-day high of 121.12 against the pound, 1-week high of 77.53 against the Canadian dollar and 2-day highs of 78.10 against the greenback and 81.61 against the Australian dollar.
The yen also challenged yesterday's highs against the rest of majors in early Friday Asian deals, rising as much as 63.20 against the NZ dollar, 79.15 against the Swiss franc and 95.05 against the euro.
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Taiwan Inflation Accelerates In July
Taiwan's inflation accelerated notably in July mainly on account of higher food prices, data released by the Director-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics showed Monday.
The consumer price index rose 2.46 percent year-on-year in July, faster than the 1.77 percent increase in the preceding month. Economists expected the index to rise 1.87 percent.
The core inflation was 0.96 percent. Food prices rose 6.27 percent annually, of which vegetables and fruit prices went up by 32.77 percent and 19.9 percent respectively. The CPI, excluding fruits and vegetables, increased just 1.29 percent.
Month-on-month, the CPI rose 0.38 percent and the core index rose 0.1 percent.
Taiwan's wholesale prices decreased 1.71 percent annually in July compared to expectations for a 1.5 percent fall. Month-on-month, the index dropped 0.08 percent.
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Japan Has Y433.3 Billion Current Account Surplus
Japan posted a current account surplus of 433.3 billion yen in June, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday - down 19.6 percent on year and falling for the 16th consecutive month.
The headline figure topped forecasts for a surplus of 415.4 billion yen and a 24.9 percent annual contraction after showing a surplus of 215.1 billion and a 62.6 percent plunge in May.
The trade balance reflected a surplus of 112.0 billion yen, down 13.7 percent on year. That missed expectations for a surplus of 114.9 billion yen following the downwardly revised shortfall of 941.0 billion yen in the previous month (originally -848.2 billion yen).
Exports shed an annual 1.5 percent to 5.422 trillion yen in June. That follows the 11.3 percent jump in May, which came in at 5.054 trillion yen.
Imports eased 1.2 percent on year to 5.310 trillion yen in June, after posting an annual increase of 11.1 percent in the previous month to 5.902 trillion yen.
Goods and services saw a deficit of 81.5 billion yen in June after showing a shortfall of 941.0 billion yen a month earlier.
The financial account saw a deficit of 2.041 trillion yen, while the capital account posted a surplus of 18.8 billion yen.
The adjusted current account showed a surplus of 773.6 billion yen, beating forecasts for a surplus of 714.7 billion yen after coming in at 282.2 billion yen a month earlier.
Also on Wednesday, the Bank of Japan said that bank lending in Japan was up 1.0 percent on year in July, standing at 396.424 trillion yen. That beat forecasts for an increase of 0.8 percent, which would have been unchanged from the June reading.
Including trusts, bank lending was up an annual 0.7 percent after shedding a downwardly revised 0.6 percent in the previous month. Lending from foreign banks in Japan plummeted an annual 22.4 percent to 2.163 trillion yen after plunging 20.6 percent on year a month earlier.
Upon the release of the data, the Japanese yen held steady against major currencies, trading near 97.43 against the euro, 78.64 versus the U.S. dollar, 122.83 against the British pound and 81.11 versus the Swiss franc.
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What is the latest update about EUR/USD? There is news that Euro falling down again.
Chinese Yuan Climbs To 5-week High Against U.S. Dollar
The Chinese yuan spiked up against the U.S. dollar on Thursday in Asia. The yuan approached 6.3517 against the greenback for the first time since July 5. On the upside, the yuan may target 6.35 level. The pair closed yesterday's deals at 6.3623.
Consumer prices in China were up 1.8 percent on year in July, the National Bureau of Statistics said today.
That was slightly above forecasts for 1.7 percent, which would have been a 30-month low. It was also down significantly from the 2.2 percent reading in June.
The People's Bank of China set today's central parity rate for the yuan at 6.3387 per dollar, compared to yesterday's daily reference rate of 6.3378. The Chinese central bank sets the central parity rate every morning and allows the currency to fluctuate up to 1 percent from the level.
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Singapore GDP Falls 0.7% On Quarter In Q2
Singapore's gross domestic product contracted a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent in the second quarter of 2012 compared to the previous three months, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Friday.
That's an improvement from last month's advance reading that called for a 1.1 percent contraction. GDP was up 9.5 percent in the first quarter.
GDP was down 2.5 percent on quarter in Q4 2011, up 1.5 percent in the third quarter and up 0.9 percent in Q2.
On a yearly basis, GDP was up 2.0 percent, up from the 1.9 percent advance reading and also up from the 1.5 percent increase in the previous three months.
The manufacturing sector was the key detriment as it contracted 0.5 percent on quarter after surging a revised 20.8 percent in the previous three months. The sector climbed 4.5 percent on year.
"The pull-back in quarter-on-quarter growth was largely due to the decline in externally-oriented sectors such as electronics manufacturing, as well as wholesale trade and tourism-related services," the MTI said in a statement accompanying the data. "Growth in the electronics cluster remained weak, while the transport engineering and biomedical manufacturing clusters provided growth support."
The construction sector added 5.3 percent on year, slowing from the 6.9 percent growth in the preceding quarter. On a sequential basis, the sector decelerated to 0.9 percent from 27.9 percent in the preceding quarter, largely due to a slowdown in construction activities in the institutional and others segment, the ministry said.
The wholesale and retail trade sector contracted 0.4 percent on year, following the 0.3 percent decline in the previous quarter. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the sector contracted by an annualized rate of 0.4 percent, mainly due to the deterioration in the wholesale trade segment. The transportation & storage sector grew at a moderated pace of 1.6 percent on year, and 7.2 percent on quarter.
Growth in the finance and insurance sector was flat at 0.1 percent on year, down from 0.5 percent in the preceding quarter. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the sector grew at 2.1 percent (annualized), largely due to continued sluggishness in sentiment-sensitive activities such as stock market trading, the MTI said.
While the business services sector added 3.0 percent on year, it was down 3.0 percent (annualized) on quarter as economic uncertainty weighed down on business and management consultancy activities.
Upon the release of the data, the Ministry of Trade and Industry narrowed its GDP growth forecast for 2012 to 1.5 to 2.5 percent; originally, it was 1.0 to 3.0 percent.
"Given the macroeconomic backdrop, the growth outlook for the Singapore economy remains cautious," the MTI said. "Externally-oriented sectors, in particular electronics, wholesale and tourism-related services, will be affected by the slowdown in advanced economies. Continued uncertainties in the external environment will also weigh down on sentiment-sensitive segments within the finance and insurance sector. Nonetheless, there will be modest support to growth from healthy expansion in the transport engineering cluster and construction sector."
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Japanese Economy Slows More Than Expected
Japan's gross domestic product added just 0.3 percent in the second quarter of 2012 compared to the previous three months, the Cabinet Office said on Monday in a preliminary reading - suggesting that the recovery from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami remains stuck in neutral.
The headline figure missed forecasts for an increase of 0.6 percent following the 1.6 percent gain in the first quarter.
On a yearly basis, GDP added 1.4 percent - also shy of expectations for a jump of 2.5 percent following the 4.7 percent gain in the previous three months.
In a statement accompanying the release of the data, Economics Minister Motohisa Furukawa pointed out that the Japanese economy is growing and is expected to continue to do so in Q3 and beyond.
"Japan's economy continues in an uptrend led by domestic demand," he said.Furukawa acknowledged the slowdown, citing the persistent debt woes in Europe as the chief culprit.
Nominal GDP fell 0.1 percent on quarter, missing forecasts for a gain of 0.4 percent after collecting 1.2 percent in the three months prior.
The GDP deflator dropped an annual 1.1 percent versus forecasts for a contraction of 0.8 percent, but up from the -1.3 percent showing in the first quarter.
Private consumption was up just 0.1 percent on quarter, missing forecasts for an increase of 0.3 percent.
External demand eased 0.1 percentage point from GDP, while domestic demand added 0.4 point, the data showed.
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Australian Business Conditions Deteriorates, Confidence Improves in July - Nab
NAB' survey of businessman revealed that Business conditions deteriorated to -3 from -1 in July but confidence was up sharply at +4 from -3
Deteriorating profits (-7) and falling retail sales (-3) remained the main reason behind the fall in conditions, while , progress in European debt crisis may have boosted business confidence according NAB economist
Index of employment was up 3 points to -1
Quotes
"The persistent divergence in industry conditions indicates that the Australian economy is undergoing a structural transformation towards mining and service-based industries, and away from traditional manufacturing and discretionary retailing,"
"If the RBA were to lower rates again, it would most likely occur at the back-end of this year and this would require a material slowing in the labor market and domestic activity,"
NAB Economist
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Pound Drops To 2-day Low Against US Dollar
The British sterling slipped to a 2-day low of 1.5666 against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday morning in Asia, compared to 1.5679 hit late New York Tuesday.
The cable is now staying at its 38.2 percent retracement level between its April-June highs and lows in the daily chart. If the level broken, next key support levels to watch are 1.5580 and 1.5515.
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