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Australia December Trade Deficit A$3.535 Billion





Australia posted a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade deficit of A$5.353 in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday - tumbling 30 percent on month. The headline figure missed forecasts for a shortfall of A$2.450 billion following the upwardly revised A$2.727 billion deficit in November (originally -A$2.906 billion). Exports were down A$1.243 billion or 5 percent on month to A$25.247 billion. Non-rural goods fell A$1.078 billion (7 percent) and rural goods fell A$392 million (9 percent). Non-monetary gold rose A$121 million (10 percent). Net exports of goods under merchanting remained steady at A$14 million. Services credits rose A$108 million (2 percent). Imports eased A$434 million or 1.0 percent to A$28.782 billion. Intermediate and other merchandise goods fell A$399 million (4 percent), while capital goods fell A$176 million (3 percent) and consumption goods shed A$57 million (1 percent). Non-monetary gold surged A$108 million (39 percent) and services debits added A$89 million (1 percent). For all of 2015, the trade deficit was A$33.5 billion following the A$9.9 billion shortfall in 2014. Also on Wednesday: . The ABS said that the total number of building approvals issued in Australia spiked a seasonally adjusted 9.2 percent on month in December, coming in at 18,868. That topped forecasts for an increase of 4.5 percent following the revised 12.4 percent contraction in November. On a yearly basis, approvals slipped 2.5 percent - also beating forecasts for a decline of 7.2 percent after the 8.4 percent contraction in the previous month. Approvals for private sector houses added 5.4 percent on month and 4.5 percent on year to 9,868, while approvals for private sector dwellings excluding houses spiked 12.8 percent on month and fell 6.5 percent on year to 8,839. The seasonally adjusted estimate of the value of total building approved rose 1.1 percent in December following a fall of 3.8 percent in the previous month. The value of residential building rose 4.7 percent following a fall of 8.9 percent in the previous month. The value of non-residential building fell 6.1 percent following a rise of 8.2 percent a month earlier. . The service sector in Australia continued to contract in January, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group showed with a PMI score of 48.4. That's up sharply from 46.3 in December, although it remains well beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction for the fourth straight month. Among the individual components of the survey, supplier deliveries and selling prices expanded, while wages moved into contraction for the first time since 2009. Stocks, employment and new orders also contracted.


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BNZ won't scramble to lower rates on low inflation, says Wheeler





The Reserve Bank of New Zealand implied it won't rush to further slash its interest rate even though inflation is close to zero, emphasizing its flexibility to look into slumping oil prices. Governor Graeme Wheeler, in a speech, said it won't be suitable to attempt to counter the low oil price by cutting the official cash rate. The RBNZ head added some additional policy easing may be necessary in 2017 in case concerns aggravate around the probabilities for the global economy and its effect on the country. In 2015, the central bank reduced the rate four times to a record low of 2.5%. Inflation slid to 0.1% in the fourth quarter due to declining crude prices.


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Canadian Dollar Climbs Against Majors





The Canadian dollar strengthened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Thursday. The Canadian dollar rose to nearly a 2-month high of 1.3719 against the U.S. dollar, from yesterday's closing value of 1.3778. Against the yen, the euro and the Australian dollar, the loonie edged up to 86.06, 1.5222 and 0.9849 from yesterday's closing quotes of 85.52, 1.5299 and 0.9871, respectively. If the loonie extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.35 against the greenback, 89.00 against the yen, 1.49 against the euro and 0.97 against the aussie.


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Australia December Retail Sales Flat On Month





The total value of retail sales in Australia was unchanged in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday, worth A$24.759 billion. That missed forecasts for an increase of 0.4 percent, which would have been unchanged from the November reading. Sales were up 0.6 percent in October. Among the individual components, food retailing was up 0.4 percent, along with household goods retailing (0.4 percent), clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (0.4 percent) and department stores (0.4 percent). Other retailing (0.0 percent) and cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (0.0 percent) were relatively unchanged. By region, sales were up 0.4 percent in Victoria, followed by New South Wales (0.3 percent), Queensland (0.3 percent), South Australia (0.3 percent), the Australian Capital Territory (0.8 percent), Tasmania (0.3 percent) and the Northern Territory (0.2 percent). Western Australia (0.0 percent) was relatively unchanged. For the fourth quarter of 2015, retail sales added 0.6 percent to A$72.062 billion. That also missed expectations for an increase of 0.9 percent, although it was unchanged from the three months prior. Also on Friday, the Australian Industry Group said that the construction sector in Australia remained in contraction in January with a PMI score of 46.3. That's down from 46.8 in December, and it moves farther beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Among the individual components of the survey, apartment building, commercial construction and engineering construction all contracted - while house building expanded for the second straight month. Activities and new orders remained in contraction, while supplier deliveries swung lower from expansion last month.


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Obama to proffer $10 per barrel tax on crude oil





Next week, President Barack Obama will unveil a proposal to levy $10 a barrel on crude oil which would finance the rebuilding of the country's transportation infrastructure. According to the White House, the new tax would enable Obama's plan to create a precise concession for private sector transformation to invest in clean energy technologies and cut the country's dependence on oil. Legislators in the Congress, however, swifty criticized Obama's proposal. Obama has emphasized the United States must stop subsidizing fossil fuels and concentrate on clean fuels which do not worsen climate change.


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Puerto Rico's economic activity index down 0.5 percent in Dec.





The economic activity index of Puerto Rico dropped 0.5% in December year-on-year, its Government Development Bank said. According to the data, gasoline consumption slid by 0.8% year-on-year, while cement sales fell nearly 15%. The U.S. territory has about $70 billion of debt and has defaulted on some of its borrowings.


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Dutch Manufacturing Output Rises For Fourth Month





Dutch manufacturing output increased for the fourth straight month in December but the pace of growth eased slightly, data from the Central Bureau of Statistics showed Tuesday. The average daily output of Dutch manufacturing industry grew 2.4 percent annually, following November's 2.5 percent increase. This was the fourth consecutive annual growth in production. Output of pharmaceutical industry advanced around 19 percent from last year and that of metal production climbed about 8 percent. The chemical industry output increased by more than 7 percent. On a monthly basis, growth in manufacturing output eased to 0.4 percent from 1.2 percent in November.


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Canadian Dollar Slides Against Most Majors





The Canadian dollar weakened against most major currencies in the Asian session on Wednesday. The Canadian dollar fell to nearly a 3-week low of 1.5725 against the euro, from yesterday's closing value of 1.5657. Against the U.S. dollar and the yen, the loonie dropped to 1.3913 and 82.17 from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.3865 and 82.99, respectively. If the loonie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 1.61 against the euro, 1.43 against the greenback and 79.00 against the yen.


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Yen Rises Against Majors





The Japanese yen strengthened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Thursday. The yen rose to more than a 2-year high of 163.84 against the pound and a 16-month high of 112.53 against the U.S. dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of 164.56 and 113.32, respectively. Against the euro, the Swiss franc and the Canadian dollar, the yen advanced to 3-week highs of 127.35, 115.93 and 80.89 from yesterday's closing quotes of 127.96, 116.39 and 81.35, respectively. Against the Australian and the New Zealand dollars, the yen climbed to 2-day highs of 80.17 and 75.36 from yesterday's closing quotes of 80.38 and 75.73, respectively. If the yen extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 162.00 against the pound, 111.00 against the greenback, 126.00 against the euro, 114.00 against the franc, 78.00 against the loonie, 79.00 against the aussie and 73.00 against the kiwi.


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Japan GDP Slides 1.4% On Year In Q4





Japan's gross domestic product contracted an annualized 1.4 percent on year in the fourth quarter of 2015, the Cabinet Office said in Monday's preliminary reading. That missed forecasts for a decline of 0.8 percent following the upwardly revised 1.3 percent increase in the third quarter (originally 1.0 percent). On a quarterly basis, GDP was down 0.4 percent - also shy of expectations for a decline of 0.2 percent following the 0.3 percent gain in the three months prior. Nominal GDP slipped 0.3 percent on quarter versus expectations for a fall of 0.1 percent following the upwardly revised 0.6 percent increase in the previous three months (originally 0.4 percent). The GDP deflator advanced 1.5 percent on year - also beneath forecasts for 1.6 percent and down from 1.8 percent in the third quarter. Private consumption tumbled 0.8 percent on quarter versus forecasts for a fall of 0.6 percent after gaining 0.4 percent in the previous three months. Capital expenditure gained 1.4 percent on quarter - topping expectations for a decline of 0.2 percent and accelerating from the 0.7 percent increase in the three months prior. Domestic demand shaved 0.5 percentage points from GDP growth, while net exports added 0.1 point.


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