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Sweden Services Growth Slows For Second Month





Sweden's services sector growth slowed for a second month in a row in April, but has stabilized in recent months, suggesting a bottom in the cycle, survey results from the Swedbank and the logistics business lobby Silf showed on Monday.


The Purchasing Managers Index, or PMI, for the services sector fell to 54 from 55.1 in March. A reading above 50 suggests growth in the sector.


The next few months will be decisive to determine the direction of the services cycle, Jorgen Kennemar, the economist responsible for analysis for PMI at Swedbank, said.


Overall private sector growth also slowed for the second consecutive month with the Composite PMI falling to 53.2 in April from 54.4 in March.


That means weaker activity in the business sector, but also suggests a stabilization, Kennemar said.

Aussie Steady Ahead Of RBA Decision





At 12:30 am ET Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia announces its decision on interest rates. The RBA is widely expected to cut its benchmark lending rate by 25 bps to 1.25 percent.


Ahead of the announcement, the aussie held steady against its major rivals.


The aussie was worth 77.44 against the yen, 1.6012 against the euro, 0.6999 against the greenback and 1.0592 against the kiwi as of 12:25 am ET.


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What was Trump really up to?





It's no secret that Donald Trump likes to intimidate the markets; this is his favorite weapon. It is equally safe to say that all these threats cannot be taken at face value. If Washington actually introduces new duties, which Trump tweeted, then the tariff barrier between the US and China will be higher than in many developing countries.


All these emotional outbursts are more like a continuation of the game "who blinks first," rather than a change in the course of trade negotiations. In this case, a logical question arises: what did Trump actually plan?


There are suggestions that China has nothing to do with it, and Trump's tweets are part of a certain president's game with the Fed. Earlier, the pressure was on the central bank to strengthen the position of the economy, which could bear the consequences of a trade war without complications. Perhaps now Trump is trying to drive the Fed into a corner. If trade uncertainty exists, the regulator will be forced to lower rates and ensure an economic boom before the 2020 elections. By the way, expectations for a reduction in the rate have now increased, whereas a few days ago they were declining.


It is unlikely that the head of the White House plays a strategic game, but in general, events confirm this. In addition, he has to reckon with what is happening in the foreign exchange market. The Chinese yuan, most of the post-crisis era, became cheaper following the slow growth of the country's economy. Companies that are subject to Chinese risk lagged behind other stocks, the exchange rate increased the competitiveness of the state. That all changed a little over a year ago, in part because of concerns about a trade dispute with the United States. On Monday, Chinese stocks plummeted, and the yuan fell to its lowest level in more than three years.


The authorities of China continue to carefully monitor the national currency, so it will not be easy for Donald Trump to increase the competitiveness of the US economy. More precisely – it is impossible. We need the Fed to lower the rate.


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Dollar Up Slightly As Trade War Concerns Linger





The U.S. dollar was mostly subdued slightly above the unchanged line on Wednesday with traders weighing political and economic news from across the globe for direction.


The ongoing trade spat between the U.S. and China threatens to significantly impact global economic growth.


Earlier this week, the markets were reacting to news that the U.S. administration will hike tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25% from the existing 10% from this Friday.


U.S. President Donald Trump noted in a post on Twitter that Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will be a part of the talks, claiming the high-ranking official is "coming to the U.S. to make a deal."


"We'll see, but I am very happy with over $100 Billion a year in Tariffs filling U.S. coffers...great for U.S., not good for China!" Trump tweeted.


Trump also claimed China is attempting to renegotiate terms of a trade deal in order to strike a new deal with a Democratic president that continues to rip off the U.S.


The U.S. dollar index, which 97.68, was last seen hovering around 97.60, up 0.06% from previous close.


Against the Euro, the dollar was $1.1192, after moving between $1.1183 and $1.1215.


The British Pound Sterling weakened to $1.3009, losing more than 0.5% against the dollar.


The Chinese yuan was down 0.2% against the greenback, extending losses to a third straight day, due to rising concerns over U.S.-China trade war.


The Aussie and loonie were lower by 0.37% and 0.04%, respectively, against the greenback. The Swiss franc was down as well, with the dollar-franc pair trading at 1.0208.


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U.S. Wholesale Inventories Unexpectedly Edge Lower In March





A report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday unexpectedly showed a modest decrease in U.S. wholesale inventories in the month of March.


The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories edged down by 0.1 percent in March after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.4 percent in February. Economists had expected inventories to come in unchanged.


The slight drop in wholesale inventories came as inventories of non-durable goods slid by 0.6 percent amid a sharp pullback in inventories of drugs.


On the other hand, the report said inventories of durable goods rose by 0.3 percent, reflecting notable increases in inventories of machinery and metals.


The Commerce Department also said wholesale sales surged up by 2.3 percent in March after rising by 0.3 percent in February.


Sales of durable goods jumped by 1.4 percent amid sharp increases in sales of electrical equipment and miscellaneous durable goods.


A spike in sales of petroleum products also contributed to a 3.1 percent leap in sales of non-durable goods.


With inventories falling and sales soaring, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers dropped to 1.32 in March from 1.35 in February.


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China's Industrial Output Growth Slows





China's industrial production and retail sales growth eased in April, figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Wednesday.


Industrial production advanced 5.4 percent year-on-year in April, following March's 8.5 percent increase. The growth rate was forecast to slow moderately to 6.5 percent.


Likewise, annual growth in retail sales eased to 7.2 percent from 8.7 percent a month ago. Sales were forecast to expand 8.6 percent.


Data showed that fixed asset investment climbed 6.1 percent during January to April period compared to the 6.3 percent expansion logged in January to March period. Economists had forecast 6.4 percent growth.


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Australia Jobless Rate Rises To 5.2% In AprilThe unemployment rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 5.2 percent in April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. That was above forecasts for 5.0 percent and up from the upwardly revised 5.1 percent in March (originally 5.0 percent). The Australian economy added 28,400 jobs last month - exceeding expectations for an increase of 15,000 following the gain of 25,700 a month earlier. The participation rate ticked up to 65.8 percent, beating forecasts for 65.7 percent - which would have been unchanged from the previous month.News are provided byInstaForex.

The growth of China's gold reserves is breaking records





According to some analysts, Chinese authorities are showing a growing appetite for increasing the country's gold reserves. Last week, the central bank of China announced its purchase of a record amount of the precious metal. Analysts are certain that this is not the limit, and that China will continue to increase its reserves of the yellow metal.


Last week, the financial authorities of China released a statement, which confirmed the growth of the country's gold reserves by 14.9 tons, to a mark of more than 1900 tons in April of this year. According to analysts, the gold reserves of China have been growing for five months in a row. Since December 2018, the Chinese regulator has increased their volume by 58 tons. Note that from October 2016 to November last year, Chinese authorities did not disclose information about their gold reserves. Analysts believe that this indicates the absence of official purchases.


Analysts of the precious metals market are confident that the real volume of gold reserves in China is much more than official sources say. According to the World Gold Council, at the end of 2018, 1,506 tons of ferrous metal were imported into the country, and 17 tons were exported, while the precious metal production was 404 tons. Some experts have suggested that the Chinese authorities are not telling the whole truth, so as not to cause a rise in world prices for the yellow metal.


At present, China is also the main holder of US state bonds. In 2010, China's share in US government bonds was 14%. At the moment, it does not exceed 5%, although experts are confident that the trend to diversify international reserves will continue with the help of the yellow metal.


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New Zealand Performance Of Service Index Slows In April





The services sector in New Zealand continued to expand in April, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from BusinessNZ revealed on Monday with a Performance of Services Index score of 51.8.


That's down from 52.3 in March, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.


The April reading was the third straight monthly decline and the lowest index reading since September 2012.


Individually, sales, supplier deliveries and new orders expanded, while stocks and employment were in contraction.


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Singapore Lowers 2019 Growth Outlook





Singapore's economic growth outlook for this year was lowered as the manufacturing sector is set to log a sharp slowdown on weak global demand.


The city-state economy is forecast to grow 1.5 to 2.5 percent in 2019 compared to previous projection of 1.5 to 3.5 percent, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said Tuesday.


The ministry said the global growth outlook remains clouded by uncertainties and downside risks. The manufacturing sector is expected to face strong headwinds on account of a sharper-than-expected downturn in the global electronics cycle, as well as uncertainties arising from the ongoing trade conflicts.


Elsewhere, Enterprise Singapore maintained its total trade growth projection for 2019 at 0 to 2 percent, while non-oil domestic exports growth forecast was downgraded to -2 to 0 percent.


In the first quarter, gross domestic product climbed 1.2 percent year-on-year, following the 1.3 percent expansion seen in the previous quarter, the MTI reported. Meanwhile, on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualized basis, the economy expanded 3.8 percent, a reversal from the 0.8 percent contraction in the preceding quarter.


The manufacturing sector shrank 0.5 percent as global demand for semiconductor equipment weakened. On the other hand, construction expanded 2.9 percent, a turnaround from the 1.2 percent decline in the previous three months.


The wholesale and retail trade sector shrank 1.8 percent, while the transportation and storage sector posted 0.8 percent growth. The accommodation & food services sector grew 1.8 percent.


Data showed that the information and communications sector expanded by 6.6 percent and the finance & insurance sector by 3.2 percent. Growth in the business services sector eased to 2.3 percent. The "other services industries" grew at a faster pace of 2.2 percent.


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