Forex News

The Bank of Japan said the economy is expected to grow above potential growth rate as a virtuous cycle from income to spending intensifies, according to the summary of opinions during its April monetary policy meeting. The central bank also flagged upside risks to inflation, prompting attention to various inflationary factors such as greater-than-expected progress in the wage-price spiral, a further depreciation of the yen, active fiscal policy, lack of supply capacity that is mainly due to labor shortages and a rise in commodity prices. Moreover, the BOJ stated that if the economy runs hot and inflation accelerates, it will adjust monetary policy, but the base case is that accommodative financial conditions will be maintained for the time being. Meanwhile, a Ministry of Finance representative flagged the lack of momentum in consumption, and called on the BOJ to work closely with the government to achieve sustainable 2% inflation.

Motorbike sales in Indonesia surged 18.3% year-on-year to 419.1 thousand units in April 2024, rebounding sharply from a 7.8% fall in the previous month. It was the first increase in motor sales in eight months amid the fasting month of Ramadan and the Eid-el-Fitr celebration. Monthly, sales of motorbikes plunged 28.2%, reversing from a 4.5% rise in March. The Association of Indonesia Motorcycle Industry (AISI) forecasts domestic sales to reach 6.2 – 6.5 million units in 2024 amid hopes of rising employment rates later this year. In 2023, motorbike sales jumped 19.4% to 6.2 million units, within AISI’s target range of 6.1 - 6.2 million units.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial increased to a 6-week high of 1580.00 JPY. Over the past 4 weeks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial gained 2.84%, and in the last 12 months, it increased 82.79%.

US stock futures eased on Thursday after the major averages ended mixed in the previous session. In extended trading, Airbnb tumbled more than 8% on disappointing revenue guidance for the second quarter, while Robinhood jumped 4.2% on better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the first quarter. In regular trading on Wednesday, the Dow rose 0.44%, extending its winning streak to a sixth day. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 ended flat and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.18%, weighed down losses in heavyweight tech names. Investors remained focused on corporate earnings reports and the Federal Reserve's policy outlook, especially after receiving mixed comments from several central bank officials. In corporate news, Uber sank 5.7% on an earnings miss. Tesla also fell 1.7% after reports that US prosecutors are examining whether Tesla committed securities or wire fraud by misleading investors and consumers about its electric vehicles’ self-driving capabilities.

Average cash earnings in Japan increased by 0.6% year-on-year in March 2024, slowing for the second straight month following a 1.8% gain in February. The latest reading was also the lowest since September last year. Moreover, the country’s nominal wage growth lagged behind the 2.6% core consumer inflation rate in March, marking two straight years of negative inflation-adjusted real wages which fell 2.5% last month. The following industries contributed the most to the wage rise: finance & insurance (7.2%), living-related & personal services & amusement services (5.4%) and information & communications (4.9%). Meanwhile, wages declined in mining & quarrying of stone & gravel (-11.6%), accommodations, eating & drinking services (-8%) and scientific research, professional & technical (-2.3%).

The RICS UK Residential Market Survey house price balance, which measures the gap between the percentage of respondents seeing rises and falls in house prices, remained unchanged at -5% in April 2024. The latest reading signaled a largely stable trend in house prices at the aggregate level, but missed forecasts for an improvement to -2%. Virtually all parts of England returned either a flat or marginally negative reading for the house price series. By way of contrast, both Northern Ireland and Scotland continue to see an upward trend in house prices. Looking ahead, the three-month outlook for house prices slipped to -13%, while the twelve-month outlook remain consistent with house prices returning to growth at the aggregate level, posting a net balance of +38%. When broken down, all parts of the UK are anticipated to see some uplift in house prices over the coming year.

The annual inflation rate in Colombia slowed to 7.16% in April 2024, from 7.36% in the preceding month. It came mostly in line with market expectations of 7.15%, easing for the thirteenth straight month, the lowest reading since January 2022.

South Korea posted a current account surplus of $6.93 billion in March 2024, up from a surplus of $6.93 billion in a month earlier. It marked the 11th straight month of logging a surplus amid increased trade surplus and dividend income. The goods account recorded an 8.09 billion dollar surplus as exports increased annually by 3% to 58.27 billion dollars and as imports decreased by 13.1% to 50.18 billion dollars, both compared to one year earlier. The services account posted a 2.43 billion dollar deficit owing to deficits in the use of intellectual property and travel accounts. The primary income account recorded a 1.83 billion dollar surplus due to an increase in the income on equity. The secondary income account recorded a 0.56 billion dollar deficit.

The stock market in New Zealand was down 39 points or 0.3% to 11,744 on Thursday morning trade, falling for the fourth straight session as several major sectors retreated, particularly financials, non-energy minerals, industrials, and consumer services. The NZX 50 lingered at its lowest level in over seven weeks amid uncertainty about the timing of rate cuts in the US, ahead of inflation figures in the world's largest economy next week. Meanwhile, leading trade partner China will report CPI and PPI numbers over the weekend, with concerns over deflation risks persisting despite efforts from Beijing to spur consumption. Chinese export and import figures for April will be due later today, followed by releases of vehicle sales and Q1 current account data on Friday. Among early decliners were Marsden Maritime Hlds. (-1.8%), A2 Milk Co. (-1.6%), Restaurant Brands NZ (-1.5%), and Sanford Ord. (-1.2%). Index bellwether Fisher & Paykel Healthcare slipped 0.5%, snapping its five-day gains.

Bitcoin and Ether are experiencing declines. Bitcoin has slipped 2.02%.

Top commodity losers are Corn (-4.76%) and Cheese (-4.28%). Gains are led by Cotton (3.18%) and Butter (1.87%).

Top commodity losers are Copper (-1.04%) and Steel Rebar (-0.99%). In addition, there was a slight change on Gold (-0.22%).

Top commodity gainers are Ethanol (1.69%), Crude Oil WTI (1.03%) and Heating Oil (0.94%). Biggest losers are Natural gas (-1.54%). In addition, there was a slight change on Brent Crude Oil (0.69%).

Top currency losers are South Korean Won (-0.54%), Japanese Yen (-0.50%) and Brazilian Real (-0.27%). Gains are led by Polish Zloty (0.26%). In addition, there was a slight change on Dollar Index (0.08%) and British Pound (-0.04%).