WORLDWIDE : HEADLINES
China’s producer prices extend declines but recovery signs emerge
BEIJING – China’s factory gate prices fell for a fifth straight month in June as the coronavirus pandemic weighed heavily on industrial demand, although signs of a pickup in some parts of the sector suggest a slow economic recovery remains intact.
The producer price index (PPI) in June fell 3.0% from a year earlier, China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement on Thursday, slower than a 3.2% fall tipped by a Reuters poll of analysts and a 3.7% decline in May.
However, in a sign of potential improvement in the manufacturing sector, PPI rose 0.4% from the previous month, turning around from a 0.4% decline in May.
Full Coverage : REUTERS
Ford’s second-quarter China vehicle sales rise 3% year-on-year to 158,589 units
BEIJING – Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Thursday that its China vehicle sales rose 3% between April and June this year from a year earlier to 158,589 units.
The Dearborn, Michigan-based company said in a statement that the sales rise was driven by “strong demand following the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.”
Full Coverage : REUTERS
WORLDWIDE : BUSINESS / STOCKS / ECONOMY
Asian stocks grind higher as focus turns to earnings
SINGAPORE/NEW YORK – Asian equity markets ground higher as investors tried to look past gathering Sino-U.S. tension and renewed coronavirus lockdowns to upcoming company earnings, hoping that global stimulus efforts will yield upbeat outlooks.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6% and touched a 20-week high as Chinese stocks extended their extraordinary rally.
Japan’s Nikkei edged ahead by 0.2%.
The Chinese yuan rose to a four-month high of 6.9872 per dollar and the greenback sat near a one-month low against a basket of currencies. [FRX/]
Full Coverage : REUTERS
Dollar steadies near multi-week lows, yuan shines again
TOKYO – The dollar nursed losses against most currencies on Thursday as a rally in riskier assets such as global equities and commodities put a dent in safe-haven demand for the U.S. currency.
China’s yuan rose to a four-month high against the greenback, extending recent gains as investors of all stripes increase positions in Chinese stocks due to growing optimism about the world’s second-largest economy.
Lingering worries about the spread of the coronavirus and a light calendar in Asia could keep some currency pairs in a tight range, but the dollar’s losses are gradually increasing as sentiment favours riskier bets on long-term economic growth.
Full Coverage : REUTERS
Oil eases as coronavirus fears offset gasoline recovery signs
MELBOURNE – Oil prices drifted lower on Thursday as concerns about renewed COVID-19 lockdowns in the United States outweighed signs of a recovery in U.S. gasoline demand.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures fell 14 cents, or 0.3%, to $40.76 a barrel by 0229 GMT, after rising 0.7% on Wednesday.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures slipped 7 cents, or 0.2%, to $43.22, after gaining 0.5% on Wednesday.
“The market’s struggling to get strong conviction to the upside at the current point in time,” said Lachlan Shaw, head of commodity research at National Australia Bank. “There’s mixed evidence on demand.”
Full Coverage : REUTERS
