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EUROPEAN ECONOMICS PREVIEW: EUROZONE INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT, FOREIGN TRADE DATA DUE



Industrial production and foreign trade figures from euro area are due on Monday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, GDP data from Denmark and foreign trade data from Norway are due.

At 3.00 am ET, December construction output data is due from Hungary. Production had increased 5 percent annually in November.

At 4.00 am ET, consumer prices data is due from Poland. Inflation is forecast to remain unchanged at 2.4 percent in January.

At 5.00 am ET, Eurostat is scheduled to issue euro area foreign trade and industrial output figures for December. Economists forecast production to fall 1 percent on month, reversing a 2.5 percent rise in November.

The euro area foreign trade surplus is seen at EUR 25.3 billion in December versus EUR 25.8 billion in the previous month.

In the meantime, January consumer price data is due from Greece. Consumer prices are forecast to drop 2.3 percent annually in December.

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RBA MINUTES ON TAP FOR TUESDAY



The Reserve Bank of Australia will on Tuesday release the minutes from its Feb. 2 monetary policy meeting, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity.

At the meeting, the RBA decided to maintain the targets of 10 basis points for the cash rate and the yield on the 3-year Australian Government bond, as well as the parameters of the Term Funding Facility.

The board also decided to buy an additional A$100 billion of bonds issued by the Australian Government and states and territories when the current bond purchase program is completed in mid-April. These additional purchases will be at the current rate of A$5 billion a week.

Japan will see December results for its tertiary industry index; in November, the index was up 0.7 percent on month.

Finally, the markets in Taiwan and China remain closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

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MicroStrategy decides to buy more Bitcoin



The bitcoin exchange rate is trading near the level of $50,000 per coin and is not even going to stop there. Ether is also not far from its highs, but it is still correcting and is now near the level of $1,745. At the moment, there are no discussions on any fall of the two largest cryptocurrencies. This is pretty logical, considering the latest news. For the past two weeks, everyone has been talking about Elon Musk's posts on Twitter and Tesla's decision to buy $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin. These events led the cue ball to the cost of $50,000 per coin. However, further messages began to arrive, saying that the oldest banks, payment systems, and some other companies were already ready to join the cue ball hype. Since bitcoin and ether are already traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the popularization of the cryptocurrency segment is in full swing. In the future, bitcoin is going to be used as payment for goods and services. Apple already provides its users with the ability to store cryptocurrencies on their phone. But at the same time, there is still a huge number of skeptics of bitcoin and other tokens remaining in the world. While they criticize the cue ball, the coin continues to break value records. Despite this, many believe that the "bubble" is inflating again and will soon burst. The problem is that bitcoin itself is worthless, so it doesn't have any fair value. It can cost as much as you want, just like other cryptocurrencies. Its price is formed solely on the basis of supply and demand. And supply and demand are formed from the hype. To put it simply, the more people join the general mainstream in order to make money on the rise, the more expensive the cryptocurrency becomes. But this does not mean that it becomes more useful or more scarce. Just yesterday, it became known that MicroStrategy is going to raise $600 million of borrowed funds to buy more bitcoins. According to approximate estimates, the company's account already has about 72,000 coins, which is equal to 3.6 billion in dollar terms. The company has invested in bitcoin throughout 2020 and is now referred to as the "corporate sponsor" of bitcoin. The company, whose main activity is not actually related to investments in cryptocurrencies, but to business analytics, has risen in price by 580% during 2020 alone, due to its activity on the purchase of the number 1 cryptocurrency. Now, MicroStrategy is going to issue 600 million bonds for sale with a maturity in 2027. We also stand by the opinion that the "bubble" is inflated and will burst sooner or later. But while it is still growing, it is possible to make good money on it.

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EUROPEAN ECONOMICS PREVIEW: ECB MINUTES DUE



The minutes of the policy-setting meeting of the European Central Bank is due on Thursday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, January foreign trade data is due from Switzerland. The trade surplus totaled CHF 3.05 billion in December.

At 3.30 am ET, Statistics Sweden is scheduled to issue consumer price data for January. Inflation is forecast to rise to 1.5 percent from 0.5 percent in December. At 4.00 am ET, industrial production and producer price figures are due from Poland. Production is expected to rise 0.6 percent on year in January, slower than the 11.2 percent increase in December.

At 6.00 am ET, Turkey's central bank announces its interest rate decision. The bank is expected to hold its one-week repo rate at 17.00 percent.

At 7.30 am ET, the ECB releases the account of the monetary policy meeting of the governing council held on January 20 and 21. At the meeting, policymakers had decided to leave its key interest rates and asset purchases unchanged, and reaffirmed its willingness to adjust the policy tools when needed.

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SOUTH KOREA PRODUCER PRICE INFLATION RISES FOR SECOND MONTH



South Korea's producer price inflation rose for the second straight month in January, data published by Bank of Korea showed on Friday.

Producer prices increased 0.8 percent year-on-year in January, following a 0.2 percent rise in December.

Prices for agricultural, forestry and marine products prices increased 12.5 percent and those of services grew 1.6 percent. Prices for manufacturing products remained unchanged.

Meanwhile, prices for electric power, gas, water and waste declined 5.3 percent.

On a monthly basis, producer prices rose 0.9 percent in January, following a 0.8 percent increase in the prior month.

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THAI TRADE DATA DUE ON MONDAY



Thailand will on Monday release January figures for imports, exports and trade balance, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity.

Imports are expected to sink 10.5 percent on year after rising 3.62 percent in December. Exports are called higher by an annual 2.4 percent after adding 4.7 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at $0.1 billion, down from $0.96 billion a month earlier.

China will provide February data on prime loan rates; in January, the one-year rate was 3.85 percent and the five-year rate was 4.65 percent.

Hong Kong will see January figures for consumer prices; in December, overall inflation was down 0.7 percent on year.

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NEW ZEALAND RETAIL SALES VOLUME RISES 4.8% ON YEAR IN Q4



The volume of retail sales in New Zealand was up 4.8 percent on year in the fourth quarter of 2020, Statistics New Zealand said on Tuesday - slowing from 8.3 percent in the three months prior.

The total value of retail sales was up 4.9 percent (NZ$1.3 billion).

The main movements by industry were: motor vehicle and parts retailing, up 12 percent (NZ$412 million); hardware, building, and garden supplies, up 16 percent (NZ$388 million); electrical and electronic goods retailing, up 19 percent (NZ$214 million); and supermarket and grocery stores, up 3.3 percent (NZ$187 million).

On a quarterly basis, sales were down 2.7 percent after skyrocketing 28.0 percent in the previous three months.

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MALAYSIA CONSUMER PRICES DECLINE SLOWS IN JANUARY



Malaysia's consumer prices declined at a softer pace in January, data from the Department of Statistics showed on Wednesday.

The consumer price index declined 0.2 percent year-on-year in January, following a 1.4 percent fall in December. Economists had expected a 0.8 percent fall.

The annual fall was largely driven by the decline in transportation cost, as prices fell 5.1 percent.

Prices for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels declined 0.7 percent yearly in January.
Prices for clothing and footwear decreased 0.4 percent and those of restaurants and hotel fell 0.1 percent.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 1.2 percent in January.

The core inflation was 0.7 percent in January.

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AUSTRALIA PRIVATE CAPEX CLIMBS 3.0% IN Q4



Private capital expenditure was up 3.0 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2020, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.

That beat forecasts for a flat reading following the 3.0 percent decline in the three months prior.

Capex for buildings and structures rose 0.7 percent in the December quarter 2020, while capex for equipment, plant and machinery rose 5.7 percent in the December quarter 2020.

Capex for mining fell 1.4 percent in the December quarter 2020, while capex for non-mining rose 4.9 percent in the December quarter 2020.

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JAPAN INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT CLIMBS 4.2% IN JANUARY



Industrial production in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 4.2 percent on month in January, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Friday.

That beat expectations for an increase of 4.0 percent following the 1.0 percent decline in December.

On a yearly basis, industrial production dropped 5.3 percent - roughly in line with forecasts after slipping 2.6 percent in the previous month.

Upon the release of the data, the METI upgraded its assessment of industrial production, saying that it is now picking up.

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