In February, consumer inflation in China falls
chinese Consumer price index for February was 1% year-on-year, after an annual increase of two.1% in January.
This figure is below Reuters’ forecast of 1.9% growth. Prices of food, alcohol and tobacco products increased by 2.1% yr on yr.
chinese Producer Price Index in February it fell by 1.4% in comparison with the previous yr, deepening the autumn of 0.8% in January.
Japan’s economy records weaker annual growth of 0.1% in the fourth quarter
Japan’s GDP grew slower by 0.1% yoy in the October-December quarter, bogged down by weak private consumption in accordance with official data.
The reading is weaker than the initial 0.6% growth estimate, and can also be lower than the 0.8% growth. analysts polled by Reuters say.
Private consumption, which accounts for about 57% of Japan’s GDP, grew just 0.3%, lower than the 0.5% growth forecast.
—Lee Ying Shan
EU and US to start out negotiations on trade in critical minerals: WSJ
Europe and the US develop a trade deal on critical minerals to scale back their dependence on China, The Wall Street Journal reportedciting sources conversant in the matter.
Either side are laying the groundwork for what is going to deal with environmental standards and nickel and lithium sourcing work, the sources were quoted as saying.
The move would mark a step towards the Critical Minerals Pact between the US, Japan and the UK, which aimed to maneuver energy supply chains away from China.
Negotiations on the terms of the deal will likely be submitted at Friday’s meeting on the White House.
—Lee Ying Shan
CNBC Pro: Bond yields are rising. But this strategist says she’s still a fan of those “convincing” stocks
Higher bond yields are frequently bad news for stock market investors. But that is not the case with these stocks, given their modern business models, says strategist Amy Kong.
“We proceed to look constructively at equities over bonds and money, but we recognize that risks have increased,” Kong, who’s chief investment officer at CI Barrett Private Wealth, told CNBC’s Street Signs Asia.
Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Zavier Ong
Major cryptocurrencies fall 2% after Silvergate closes
Major cryptocurrencies, bitcoin and ether, have sunk into early Asian trade after the crypto industry’s central lender, Silvergate Capital, said it might shut down operations.
“In light of recent industry and regulatory developments, Silvergate believes that an orderly winding up of the Bank’s operations and a voluntary winding up of the Bank is one of the simplest ways forward,” the corporate said in an announcement. Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX was Silvergate’s major client.
Bitcoin fell 2.31% to $21,711.8, while Ether fell 2.15% to $1,532.98, in accordance with CoinDesk data.
— Lee Ying Shan
CNBC Pro: Investors Share Strategies to Overcome Interest Rate Concerns — Including One That Blowed the 60/40 Model
China inflation expected to fall in February: Reuters
China’s consumer price index is anticipated to fall to 1.9% in February, in accordance with a Reuters poll.
This could follow annual inflation of two.1% in January and 1.8% in December.
A lower printout would somewhat ease investors’ fears that a price hike in China because the economy reopens may have a spillover effect on global markets, prompting further rate of interest hikes by central banks world wide.
On a monthly basis, inflation is anticipated to extend by 0.2% from January. China’s producer price index is anticipated to say no by 1.3% year-on-year, further down from January’s fall of 0.8%.
— Jihye Lee
Dow ends lower, S&P and Nasdaq higher
The Dow Jones fell 58.06 points, or 0.18%, to 32,798.40 on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 was up 0.14% to three,992.01. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4% to 11,576.00.
— Samantha Subin
Powell says there isn’t any decision yet on the March Fed meeting
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday he had not yet made a choice on what the central bank would do about rates of interest when it met at the tip of March.
Chatting with the House Financial Services Committee, Powell said he and his colleagues will likely be evaluating a variety of upcoming inflation data, including next week’s reports on consumer prices and producer prices.
“These will likely be necessary in our assessment of the upper readings we got very recently and the final direction of the economy and our progress in bringing inflation down,” the Fed leader said.
“We’ve not made any decision concerning the March meeting,” he added. “We’re not going to do this until we see additional data. But more importantly, we will not be on a hard and fast path and will likely be guided by incoming data and changing perspectives.”
Powell rocked the markets on Wednesday when he said he predicted that if inflation data remained hot, he expected rates to go higher than expected and at a faster pace. Markets now expect the Fed to lift its benchmark rate of interest by 0.5 percentage points when the Federal Open Market Committee meets on March 21-22.
—Jeff Cox
Job vacancies fall in January, however the job market stays tight
Job openings fell in January but remained high and still outnumber available employees by a margin of virtually 2 to 1, the Labor Department said Thursday.
The number of obtainable items totaled 10.824 million for the month, a decrease of around 410,000 but still above FactSet’s estimate of 10.58 million.
The figures point to a historically tight labor market, with job vacancies outstripping those considered unemployed by a margin of 1.9 to 1, in accordance with January data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
—Jeff Cox