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UK Retail Sales Decline At Record Pace: BRC

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British retail sales declined at a record pace in March due to measures taken to fight the spread of coronavirus, data from the British Retail Consortium, or BRC, showed Thursday. According to BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor, retail sales decreased 4.3 percent on a yearly basis in March, the sharpest fall since records began in 1995.

At the same time, like-for-like sales declined 3.5 percent from the same period last year.

"The headline figure masked even more dramatic swings: food and essentials faced an unprecedented surge in demand in the early part of March, only to drop significantly into negative growth after the lockdown and introduction of social distancing in stores," Helen Dickinson, chief executive at BRC, said.

The closure of non-essential shops led to deserted high streets and high double-digit declines in sales, which even a rise in online shopping could not compensate for, Dickinson added.

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China GDP Contracts 9.8% In Q21

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China's gross domestic product was down a seasonally adjusted 9.8 percent on quarter in the first quarter of 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday.

That was in line with expectations following the 1.5 percent gain in the three months prior.

On a yearly basis, GDP sank 6.8 percent - missing expectations for a drop of 6.0 percent following the 6.0 percent increase in the previous three months.

The bureau also said that fixed asset investment tumbled an annual 16.1 percent in March, shy of forecasts for a decline of 15.0 percent following the 24.5 percent plunge in February.

Industrial production dipped 1.1 percent on year, beating forecasts for a fall of 5.8 percent after dropping 13.5 percent in the previous month.

Retail sales plunged 15.8 percent on year, missing forecasts for a fall of 10.0 percent after skidding 20.5 percent a month earlier.

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China Cuts Benchmark Lending Rates

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China's central bank on Monday reduced its benchmark lending rates, as widely expected, as the economy contracted for the first time at least since 1992 amid coronavirus outbreak.

The one-year loan prime rate was lowered by 20 basis points to 3.85 percent and the five-year loan prime rate was cut by 10 basis points to 4.65 percent.

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.

The People's Bank of China last week reduced its one-year medium-term lending facility, or MLF, rate to 2.95 percent from 3.15 percent and injected CNY 100 billion through the MLF operation.

In March, the PBoC had reduced the reserve requirement ratio for qualified banks and the reverse repo rate.

September should mark the point when the PBoC hits the "ultra-low" interest rate level, Iris Pang, an ING economist said.

After that, the PBoC may need to rely more on reserve requirement ratio cuts than rate cuts. The PBoC may use RRR cuts more than rate cuts before September to delay its policy rates touching ultra-low levels, the economist noted.

The economy shrank 6.8 percent on a yearly basis in the first quarter, which was the first decline since the nation began reporting quarterly data in 1992. The economy had expanded 6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019.

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European Economics Preview: German ZEW Economic Confidence Due

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Corrected first para
Economic confidence survey results from Germany and labor market statistics from the UK are due on Tuesday, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, the Office for National Statistics releases UK unemployment data. The jobless rate is forecast to remain unchanged at 3.9 percent in three months to February.

In the meantime, foreign trade from Switzerland and wholesale prices from Germany are due.

At 3.00 am ET, the Czech Statistical Office is set to release producer price data for March. Economists forecast prices to rise at a slower pace of 0.2 percent after climbing 1.4 percent in February.

Half an hour later, Statistics Sweden issues unemployment data for March. The jobless rate stood at 8.2 percent in February.

At 4.00 am ET, industrial production and producer price figures are due from Poland. Industrial production is forecast to fall 2.1 percent on year in March, reversing a 4.9 percent rise in January.

At 5.00 am ET, Germany's ZEW economic confidence survey results are due. Economists forecast the economic confidence index to rise to -42.3 in April from -49.5 in March.

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Malaysia Consumer Prices Drop In March

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Malaysia's consumer prices dropped in March, figures from the Department of Statistics showed on Wednesday.

The consumer price index declined 0.2 percent year-on-year in March, after a 1.3 percent increase in February. Economists had expected a 0.1 percent fall.

Among the main groups, prices for transport declined 8.9 percent annually in March and clothing and footwear prices decreased by 1.3 percent.

Meanwhile, cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose at a faster pace of 1.2 percent following a 0.8 percent rise in February.

At the same time, prices for miscellaneous goods and services grew 2.6 percent and those of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels and communication increased 1.6 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices fell 1.2 percent in March.

The core CPI rose 1.3 percent annually in March.

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New Zealand Credit Card Spending Declines In March

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New Zealand's credit card spending declined at the fastest rate in March, figures from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand showed on Thursday.

Credit card spending fell 9.1 percent month-on-month in March, following a 0.7 percent decrease in February. Credit card spending fell for the second straight month.

Domestic billing decreased 7.2 percent monthly to NZ$3.35 billion and overseas billings declined 24.9 percent to NZ$338 million.

On a year-on-year basis, overall credit card spending dropped 8.2 percent in March, after a 2.2 percent rise in the previous month.

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Japan Inflation Steady At 0.4% In March

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Consumer prices in Japan were up 0.4 percent on year in March, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday - in line with expectations and unchanged from the February reading.

Core CPI, which excludes volatile food prices, also was up an annual 0.4 percent. That also matched expectations and was down from the 0.6 percent gain in the previous month.

Individually, prices were up for food, housing, furniture, clothing, medical care, communications and recreation. They were down for fuel and education.

On a monthly basis, overall inflation was flat, while core inflation was down 0.1 percent.

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Dollar Mostly Subdued Against Peers

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The U.S. dollar recovered after a mid-session setback and traded slightly higher against some of its peers on Thursday, with traders digesting economic data from across the globe and tracking news about the virus pandemic and geopolitical issues.

The dollar index, which dropped to 100.04 around mid morning, recovered gradually and was last seen hovering around 100.50, up 0.12% from previous close.

Against the Euro, the U.S. dollar firmed up to $1.0794 from Wednesday's close of $1.0823. The euro area private sector suffered its steepest falls in business activity and employment due to the measures taken to contain the spread of coronavirus, flash survey data from IHS Markit showed.

The flash IHS Markit composite output index plummeted to an all-time low of 13.5 in April, down from a prior record low of 29.7 in March. This was the largest monthly collapse in output recorded in over two decades of survey data collection.

The services Purchasing Managers' Index plunged to a record low 11.7 from 26.4 in March, while the manufacturing PMI came in at 33.6, down from 44.5 in the previous month.

Against Pound Sterling, the dollar edged down to $1.2340.

The Japanese Yen gained against the dollar, trading at 107.64 a dollar, compared to 107.75 a dollar Wednesday evening.

The Aussie gained against the dollar, rising to $0.6358 from its previous close of $0.6323.

The Swiss franc eased to CHF 0.9739 from CHF 0.9713, while the Loonie firmed up to 1.4124 a dollar, from $1.4161, thanks to another jump in crude oil prices.

In U.S. economic news, more than 4 million people filed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended April 18th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday. That reflects a continued decline from the nearly 7 million people that filed first-time claims in the last week of March.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims dropped to 4.427 million, a decrease of 810,000 from the previous week's revised level of 5.237 million. Economists had expected jobless claims to slump to 4.200 million from the 5.245 million originally reported for the previous week.

A report released by the Commerce Department showed new home sales plunged by 15.4% to an annual rate of 627,000 in March after tumbling by 4.6% to a revised rate of 741,000 in February. With the steep drop, new home sales pulled back further off the more than twelve-year high of 777,000 set in January.

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Vietnam Manufacturing PMI Falls To 32.7 In April - IHS Marketing

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The Vietnam manufacturing sector continued to contract in April, and at a faster rate because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the latest survey from IHS Marketing revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 32.7.

That's down from 41.9 in March and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Individually, there were severe declines in output and new orders, while employment was also down at a record pace.

Firms were pessimistic regarding the 12-month outlook.

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Aussie Slightly Down After RBA Decision

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The Reserve Bank of Australia kept its benchmark lending rate at 0.25 percent, as expected. Following the announcement, the aussie fell slightly against its major rivals.

The aussie was trading at 68.67 against the yen, 1.6925 against the euro, 0.6440 against the greenback and 1.0627 against the kiwi around 12:34 am ET.

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European Economics Preview: Germany Factory Orders Data Due

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Factory orders from Germany and final composite Purchasing Managers' survey from euro area are due on Wednesday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, Destatis is set to release Germany's factory orders for March. Economists forecast orders to fall 10 percent on month after falling 1.4 percent in February.

At 3.00 am ET, retail sales figures are due from Hungary and the Czech Republic. The Czech retail sales are expected to fall 9 percent annually, following February's 7.4 percent increase.

At 3.15 am ET, IHS Markit releases Spain's services PMI data. The PMI is seen at 10.0 in April versus 23.0 in March.

At 3.45 am ET, Italy's services PMI data is due. Economists expect the index to decline to 9.0 in April from 17.4 in March. Thereafter, final PMI survey data is due from France and Germany at 3.50 and 3.55 am ET, respectively.

At 4.00 am ET, IHS Markit publishes euro area final composite PMI data. Economists expect the index to drop to 13.5 in April, as initially estimated, from 29.7 in March.

Half an hour later, UK IHS Markit/CIPS construction PMI survey data is due. The construction PMI is forecast to drop to 22.0 in April from 39.3 in March.

At 5.00 am ET, Eurostat releases euro area retail sales data. Sales are forecast to decline 10.5 percent on month in March, reversing a 0.9 percent rise in February.

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China Services PMI Rises To 44.4 In April - Caixin

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The services sector in China continued to contract in April, albeit at a slightly slower pace, the latest survey from Caixin showed on Thursday with a Services PMI score of 44.4.

That's up from 43.0 in March, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Individually, total new work fell at a modest rate, although export sales tumbled at a near-record pace. Companies trimmed their staffa numbers for the third month in a row.

The survey also showed that the composite index ticked up to 47.6 in April from 46.7 in March.

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Malaysia Jobless Rate Rises In March

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Malaysia's unemployment rate rose in March, data from the Department of Statistics showed on Friday.

The jobless rate rose to 3.9 percent in March from 3.3 percent in February. In the same month last year, the unemployment rate was 3.4 percent.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, jobless rate rose to 3.9 percent in March from 3.3 percent in the previous month.

The number of unemployed increased to 610,500 in March from 525,200 in the previous month.

The number of employed decreased to 15.23 million in March from 15.34 million in the prior month.

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New Zealand Electronic Card Spending Plummets In April

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The total value of overall electronic spending in New Zealand was down a seasonally adjusted 48 percent or NZ$3.5 billion in April, Statistics New Zealand said on Monday - following the 8.6 percent drop in March.

Spending in the retail industries fell 47 percent (NZ$2.6 billion), while spending in the core retail industries - which excludes the automobile-related industries) fell 44 percent (NZ$2.2 billion).

The non-retail (excluding services) category was down NZ$686 million (47 percent), and the services category fell NZ$200 million (84 percent) in April 2020.

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China Inflation Slows To 3.3% In April

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Consumer prices in China were up 3.3 percent on year in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.

That was beneath expectations for an annual increase of 3.7 percent and down from 4.3 percent in March.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices sank 0.9 percent - again missing forecasts for a decline of 0.5 percent after sliding 1.2 percent in the previous month.

The stats bureau also reported that producer prices tumbled 3.1 percent on year - well shy of expectations for a drop of 2.6 percent and down sharply from the 1.5 percent decline a month

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Japan Overall Bank Lending Jumps 3.0% On Year

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Overall bank lending in Japan was up 3.0 percent on year in April, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday - coming in at 553.486 trillion yen.

That's up sharply from the 2.0 percent annual increase in March.

Excluding trusts, bank lending gained 3.1 percent on year to 482.863trillion yen - up from 2.2 percent a month earlier.

Lending from trusts rose 1.7 percent to 70.622 trillion yen- up from 1.0 percent in the previous month. Lending from foreign banks surged 25.7 percent to 3.506 trillion yen.

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Australia Unemployment Rate Rises To 6.2% In April

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The jobless rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 6.2 percent in April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. That was up from 5.2 percent in March but was well beneath expectations for 8.3 percent.

The Australian economy lost 594,300 jobs last month to 12,418,700 - missing forecasts for a decline of 575,000 following the increase of 5,900 jobs in the previous month.

Full-time employment decreased 220,500 to 8,656,900 people and part-time employment decreased 373,800 to 3,761,800 people.

Unemployment increased 104,500 to 823,300 people. Underutilization rate increased 5.9 pts to 19.9 percent.

The participation rate was 63.5 percent in April, well shy of expectations for 65.2 percent and down from 66.0 percent a month earlier.

Monthly hours worked in all jobs decreased 163.9 million hours to 1,625.8 million hours.

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China Industrial Output Rises 3.9% On Year In April

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Industrial production in China was up 3.9 percent on year in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday.

That exceeded expectations for an increase of 1.5 percent following the 1.1 percent decline in March.

The bureau also noted that retail sales fell an annual 7.5 percent - missing expectations for a drop of 7.0 percent after tumbling 15.8 percent in the previous month.

Fixed asset investment sank 10.3 percent on year, also shy of expectations for a decline of 10.0 percent after plunging 16.1 percent a month earlier.

The jobless rate came in at 5.8 percent, down from 5.9 percent in March. RSS feed

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Singapore Exports Rise Unexpectedly In April

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Singapore's non-oil domestic exports increased unexpectedly in April, data from Enterprise Singapore showed on Monday.

Non-oil domestic exports increased 9.7 percent year-on-year in April, confounding expectations for a decline of 5 percent. Nonetheless, the pace of growth eased from 17.6 percent logged in March. Electronic NODX fell by 0.6 percent, while non-electronic NODX gained 12.8 percent.

On a monthly basis, NODX declined 5.8 percent in April, after a 12.8 percent rise in the previous month.

NODX to the top markets grew in April, though exports to China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand declined. The largest contributors to the growth were the US, the EU 27 and Japan, data showed.

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New Zealand Producer Price Outputs Add 0.1% In Q1

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Producer price outputs in New Zealand were up 0.1 percent on quarter in the first quarter of 2020, Statistics New Zealand said on Tuesday - slowing from 0.4 percent in the three month prior.

Producer price inputs fell 0.3 percent on quarter after rising 0.1 percent in the previous three months.

On a yearly basis, outputs gained 2.2 percent and inputs were up 1.2 percent. Farm expenses price index (FEPI) were flat on quarter and up 1.0 percent on year, while capital goods price index (CGPI) rose 0.6 percent on quarter and 2.9 percent on year.

Salaries and wages rose 0.3 percent on quarter and 2.5 percent on year.

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