Forex News from InstaForex

[IFX Gertrude]

CHINA CONSUMER PRICES RISE 0.2% ON YEAR IN DECEMBER



Consumer prices in China were up 0.2 percent on year in December, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

That exceeded expectations for an increase of 0.1 percent following the 0.5 percent contraction in November.

On a monthly basis, inflation was up 0.7 percent - again beating forecasts for an increase of 0.4 percent following the 0.6 percent decline in the previous month.

The bureau also said that producer prices were down 0.4 percent on year, beating forecasts for a fall of 0.8 percent after sinking 1.5 percent a month earlier.

News are provided by
InstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

JAPAN HAS Y1,878.4 BILLION CURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUS



Japan posted a current account surplus of 1,878.4 billion yen in November, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday.

That exceeded expectations for a surplus of 1,551 billion yen and was down from 2,144.7 billion yen in October.

Exports were down 3.4 percent on year to 6.039 trillion yen, while imports sank an annual 13.6 percent to 5.423 trillion yen. The trade balance showed a surplus of 616.1 billion yen.

The capital account showed a surplus of 2.1 billion yen and the financial account had a surplus of 1,593.3 billion yen.

News are provided by
InstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

SOUTH KOREA UNEMPLOYMENT DATA DUE ON WEDNESDAY



South Korea will on Wednesday release unemployment figures for December, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The jobless rate in November was 4.1 percent.

Japan will see December numbers for machine tool orders; in November, orders were up 8.0 percent on year.

News are provided by
InstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

EUROPEAN ECONOMICS PREVIEW: GERMANY GDP DATA DUE



GDP data from Germany and the account of the monetary policy meeting from the European Central Bank are due on Thursday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 1.00 am ET, December consumer price data is due from Statistics Finland. Prices had increased 0.2 percent on year in November.

At 4.00 am ET, Destatis is slated to publish Germany's GDP data for the whole year of 2020. The economy is forecast to shrink 5.1 percent in 2020 after rising 0.6 percent in 2019.

At 5.00 am ET, consumer price figures are due from Greece. At 6.00 am ET, the Central Statistics Office is scheduled to issue Ireland's consumer price data for December.

At 7.30 am ET, the ECB is slated to release the account of the monetary policy meeting of the Governing Council held on December 9 and 10.

News are provided by
InstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

AUSTRALIA OVERALL HOME LOANS RISE 5.6% IN NOVEMBER



The total value of overall home loans in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 5.6 percent on month in November, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday - coming in at A$23.96 billion.

Owner-occupied home loans gained 5.5 percent to A$18.34 billion, while investment lending climbed 6.0 percent to A$5.61 billion.

On a yearly basis, overall lending jumped 23.7 percent, owner-occupied loans surged 31.4 percent and investment lending rose 3.9 percent.

Personal fixed term loans jumped 13.2 percent on month and 5.8 percent on year to A$1.76 billion.

Business construction loans plummeted 49.6 percent on month and 62.1 percent on year to A$1.02 billion.

News are provided by
InstaForex.

[IFX Yvonne]

OIL PRICES FALL ON DEMAND CONCERNS



Oil prices edged lower on Monday as climbing coronavirus cases and tighter restrictions in Europe and China fueled worries over a slower recovery in fuel demand.

Encouraging GDP and industrial production data from China helped to limit the downside to some extent.

Brent crude for March delivery eased 0.2 percent to $54.98 a barrel, after having fallen 2.3 percent on Friday. Similarly, U.S. oil futures were down 0.1 percent at $52.36 after falling more than 2 percent in the previous session.

The total number of global coronavirus cases topped 95 million, while the death toll surpassed 2 million.

China reported more than 100 new Covid-19 cases for the sixth consecutive day, while the number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients with serious symptoms in Japan topped 970, marking a record high since the onset of the pandemic in the country.

Portugal imposed a new nationwide lockdown while the U.K. government announced that it will close all travel corridors from today in order to restrict the spread of new coronavirus variant cases.

New coronavirus infections have been decreasing in Germany but the country's health minister said that more needed to be done to bring it permanently under control.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and Germany's 16 state premiers will discuss what to do next on Tuesday.

[IFX Gertrude]

EUROPEAN ECONOMICS PREVIEW: GERMAN ZEW ECONOMIC CONFIDENCE DATA DUE



Economic confidence and final consumer price figures from Germany are due on Tuesday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association releases new car registrations data for December. Registrations had declined 12 percent on year in November.

In the meantime, Destatis is set to issue Germany's final consumer price data for December. According to preliminary estimate, consumer prices were down 0.3 percent annually.

At 2.30 am ET, the Federal Statistical Office is scheduled to issue Swiss producer and import prices for December.

At 3.00 am ET, the Czech producer price data is due for December. Economists forecast prices to rise 0.3 percent on month, reversing a 0.5 percent fall in November.

At 4.00 am ET, the European Central Bank is slated to release euro area current account data for November. The surplus totaled EUR 34.1 billion in October.

At 5.00 am ET, Germany ZEW economic confidence survey results are due. The economic sentiment index is seen at 60.0 in January versus 55.0 in December

News are provided by
InstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

AUSTRALIA CONSUMER CONFIDENCE INDEX SLIPS IN JANUARY - WESTPAC



Consumer confidence in Australia took a hit in January, the latest survey from Westpac Bank revealed on Wednesday with a consumer confidence index score of 107.0.

That's down from 112.0 in December, although it remains above the line of 100 that separates optimism from pessimism.

The January reading represents a 4.5 percent monthly drop following the 4.1 percent increase in the previous month.

An increase in the number of coronavirus cases is blamed for the decline, along with the resulting lockdown measures in various parts of the country.

News are provided by
InstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

BOJ KEEPS POLICY UNCHANGED



The Bank of Japan decided to leave its monetary policy unchanged on Thursday and raised the growth projections.

The board voted 7-1 to retain the interest rate at -0.1 percent on current accounts that financial institutions maintain at the central bank.

The bank will continue to purchase necessary amount of Japanese government bonds without setting an upper limit so that 10-year JGB yields will remain at around zero percent.

Compared to October outlook, the projected growth rates were somewhat higher, mainly for fiscal 2021, reflecting the effects of the government's economic measures in particular. The projected rates of increase in the CPI were more or less unchanged.

The bank lifted the fiscal 2021 GDP growth outlook to 3.9 percent from 3.6 percent. Likewise, the growth projection for the fiscal 2022 was raised to 1.8 percent from 1.6 percent.

The BoJ expects consumer prices to rise 0.5 percent in the fiscal 2021 instead of 0.4 percent forecast in October. At the same time, inflation outlook for the fiscal 2022 was retained at 0.7 percent.

The bank noted that risks to both economic activity and prices were skewed to the downside, mainly due to the impact of Covid-19.

News are provided by
InstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

AUSTRALIA RETAIL SALES SINK 4.2% IN DECEMBER



The total value of retail sales in Australia were down a seasonally adjusted 4.2 percent on month in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday - coming in at A$30.324 billion.

That missed expectations for a decline of 2.5 percent following the 7.1 percent jump in November.

Following the November rise, all industries except for Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services fell.

Household goods retailing led the falls (-9%), following the Black Friday sales, and new product releases, that boosted turnover in November.

Similarly, Other retailing, Department stores, and Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing, saw falls after reporting large rises in November.

Food retailing fell 2%, with sales across the Food industry down in Victoria and New South Wales in line with restrictions on Christmas gatherings.

News are provided by
InstaForex.