3 hours ago
China’s central bank governor says economic growth will be “relatively strong” in the second quarter
People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang said he expects China’s second-quarter gross domestic product to be “relatively high” thanks to a low base effect.
In a speech he delivered in Shanghai last week, Yi said the recent weak inflation numbers reflect a lagging rise in demand and he expects the CPI to gradually pick up in the second half of the year.
He reiterated his confidence that the economy will meet the government’s growth target of around 5% for the full year.
Separately, China’s Securities Daily quoted economists expecting the central bank to ease monetary policy on Thursday and cut interest rates on medium-term loans by 5 to 10 basis points. The economists added that there will be room for reserve requirement ratio in the third quarter of this year.
– Jihye Lee
4 hours ago
Japan’s central bank plans to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy at forthcoming meeting: Portal
Portal reported that the Bank of Japan is likely to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy at its meeting later this week.
Citing unnamed sources, Portal reported that the BOJ may also be “signaling that inflation is overshooting its forecasts.” This could result in the central bank adjusting its inflation estimate in July when it conducts a quarterly review.
However, the sources also told Portal that an increase in their inflation forecast, if it materializes, “is unlikely to automatically trigger a rate hike.”
Earlier, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda expressed his stance that ultra-loose policies are needed until wages rise sustainably along with inflation.
— Lim Hui Jie
6 hours ago
Japanese wholesale inflation fell more-than-expected in May
Japan’s wholesale prices rose 5.1% yoy in May, down slightly from April’s 5.8%.
The rise in the producer price index was the slowest since July 2021, below estimates by economists polled by Portal, who were forecasting a 5.5% rise.
Month-on-month, wholesale prices fell 0.7%, well below the 0.2% expected by Portal.
— Lim Hui Jie
6 hours ago
Next week: Central bank meetings in focus
This week, global central bank meetings will take center stage, including those of the US Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan and European Central Bank.
Japan’s producer price index and China’s new yuan loans are due to be released on Monday. Indonesian consumer confidence, Malaysian retail sales and Indian industrial production and inflation rates are also released.
Tuesday is a market holiday in South Korea and Indonesia is due to release its retail sales for April. The US consumer price index for May will be released at the FOMC meeting on May 13-14.
South Korea’s May import and export prices will be released along with the unemployment rate on Wednesday. China reports FDI for the month of May. New Zealand is expected to release its current account report for the first quarter.
A host of economic data from China will be released on Thursday, including industrial production, retail sales, the unemployment rate and house prices for the month of May.
New Zealand will also release its gross domestic product for the first quarter of this year on Thursday, while Japan’s May trade balance and April machinery orders will be released on the same day its central bank begins its meeting. The Eurozone central bank will announce its latest interest rate decision overnight.
On Friday Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports for May will be released and the Bank of Japan will conclude its central bank meeting.
– Jihye Lee
8 hours ago
CNBC Pro: Wall Street bets on major Fed meeting and inflation reports
The majority view on Wall Street is that next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting will bring no formal action, and many stern talks about a commitment to keep inflation down leave open the option of rate hikes at the July meeting central bank to resume.
There are also bets that the latest May inflation reading to be released on Tuesday, right at the start of the two-day Fed meeting, will show further progress in the fight against higher prices.
Read the full story of what to expect this week here.
– Scott Snapper
8 hours ago
Stock futures open little changed
US stock futures were flat Sunday night.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 11 points, or 0.03%. S&P 500 futures were up 0.02%, while Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.01%.
— Sarah Min