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[IFX Gertrude]

JAPAN RETAIL SALES SINK 0.8% IN FEBRUARY



The total value of retail sales in Japan was down 0.8 percent on year in February, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Wednesday - coming in at 11.537 trillion yen.

That missed expectations for a loss of 0.3 percent following the downwardly revised 1.1 percent increase in January (originally 1.6 percent).

On a monthly basis, retail sales were again down 0.8 percent after slipping 0.9 percent in the previous month.

Commercial sales were down 0.2 percent on month and up 6.2 percent on year to 44.732 trillion yen, while wholesale sales dropped 1.5 percent on month and gained 8.8 percent on year to 33.196 trillion yen.

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[IFX Gertrude]

AUSTRALIA PRIVATE SECTOR CREDIT GAINS 0.6% ON MONTH IN FEBRUARY



Private sector credit in Australia was up 0.6 percent on month in February, the Reserve Bank of Australia said on Thursday - unchanged from the January reading.

Housing credit also rose 0.6 percent on month, while personal credit was flat and business credit gained 0.8 percent.

On a yearly basis, overall credit jumped 7.9 percent - accelerating from 7.6 percent in the previous month.

Housing credit gained an annual 7.8 percent, while personal credit fell 3.0 percent and business credit jumped 98 percent.

Broad money was up 0.3 percent on month and 8.8 percent on year.

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[IFX Gertrude]

BOJ TANKAN: LARGE MANUFACTURERS INDEX SLIPS TO +14



Large manufacturing in Japan weakened in the first quarter of 2022, the Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan Survey of business sentiment showed on Friday with a diffusion index score of +14.

That beat forecasts for a reading of +12 and was down from +18 three months ago.

The outlook came in at +9, missing expectations for +10 and down from +13 in the previous quarter.

Large all industry capex is now seen higher by 2.2 percent, missing forecasts for a gain of 5.0 percent and down from 9.3 percent in the previous three months.

The large non-manufacturers index came in at +9, beating forecasts for +5 and unchanged from the previous month. The outlook was +7, missing forecasts for +8, which would have been unchanged.

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[IFX Gertrude]

EUROPEAN ECONOMICS PREVIEW: GERMANY FOREIGN TRADE DATA DUE



Foreign trade from Germany and investor confidence survey results from eurozone are due on Monday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, Destatis is slated to issue Germany's foreign trade data for February. Exports are forecast to climb 1.5 percent on month, reversing a 2.8 percent fall in January. Economists expect imports to grow 1.4 percent, in contrast to the 4.2 percent decline a month ago.

At 3.00 am ET, Spain's unemployment data is due.

In the meantime, consumer and producer prices are due from Turkey. Economists expect inflation to surge to 61.6 percent in March from 54.4 percent in February.

At 4.30 am ET, Eurozone Sentix investor confidence survey results are due. The sentiment index is forecast to fall to -9.2 in April from -7.0 in March.

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[IFX Gertrude]

JAPAN SERVICES PMI IMPROVES TO 49.4 IN MARCH - JIBUN



The services sector in Japan continued to contract in March, albeit at a slower rate, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Tuesday with a services PMI score of 49.4.

That's up from 44.2 in February, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

While firms were still impacted by high case numbers, others reported that the easing of restrictions had boosted customer numbers. New business inflows returned to expansion territory for the first time in three months during March. The rise was only marginal, as panelists noted that domestic demand strengthened as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. However, new export orders saw the rate of decline accelerate to the fastest since January 2021 as a result of renewed restrictions across China and uncertainty due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

The survey also said its composite index moved into expansion at 50.3 in March, up from 45.8 in February.

Growth was driven by a renewed rise in manufacturing output while services firms noted a much softer decline. Aggregate new orders also rose modestly for the fifth time in six months, and at the strongest since last December. Service providers noted the first upturn for three months while growth continued at manufacturers.

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[IFX Gertrude]

CHINA SERVICE SECTOR CONTRACTS SHARPLY AS VIRUS CONTAINMENT STEPS TIGHTEN



China's service sector contracted notably in March as the recent rise in COVID-19 cases and restrictions to limit the spread of the virus led to a marked drop in activity, survey results from S&P Global showed on Wednesday.

The Caixin services Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 42.0 in March from 50.2 in February. This was the steepest fall since the initial onset of the pandemic in February 2020. Total new work decreased at the fastest pace since March 2020.

Pandemic-related restrictions, notably those on mobility, were frequently attributed to lower customer numbers and softer demand conditions.

Staffing levels fell in March but the pace of reduction was only fractional. At the same time, disruption to business operations led to a further increase in the level of outstanding business.

There was a stronger rise in input costs faced by services companies. The rate of inflation was solid overall and quicker than the series average.

Although fees charged by services companies rose slightly, the rate of increase was the softest seen in the current seven-month period of inflation.

When assessing the 12-month outlook for business activity, Chinese services companies were generally upbeat that output would expand over the next year. However, the degree of optimism slipped to its lowest for 19 months.

China's overall private sector activity shrank the most since the initial onset of the pandemic in February 2020.

The composite output index fell to 43.9 in March from 50.1 in the previous month. The reading reflected renewed falls in both manufacturing and services activity, with the latter noting the faster rate of decline.

"At present, China is facing the most severe wave of outbreaks since the beginning of 2020, Wang Zhe, a senior economist at Caixin Insight Group said. Uncertainty also increased abroad.

The outcome of the war between Russia and Ukraine is uncertain, and the commodity market has convulsed, Wang added. Several factors have aggravated the downward pressure on China's economy and underscore the risk of stagflation.

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[IFX Gertrude]

EUROPEAN ECONOMICS PREVIEW: GERMANY INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION DATA DUE



Industrial production from Germany and house prices from the UK are due Thursday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, Destatis releases Germany's industrial production data for February. Economists forecast output to fall 0.2 percent on a monthly basis, in contrast to the 2.7 percent increase posted in January.

In the meantime, UK Halifax house price data is due for March. House prices had climbed 10.8 percent annually in February.

Also, industrial production data from Norway is due at 2.00 am ET.

At 5.00 am ET, Eurostat releases eurozone retail sales data for February. Sales are expected to grow at a faster pace of 0.6 percent on month after rising 0.2 percent in January.

At 6.00 am ET, consumer price data is due from Ireland.

At 7.30 am ET, the European Central Bank publishes the account of the monetary policy meeting of the Governing Council held on March 9 and 10.

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[IFX Gertrude]

INDIA CENTRAL BANK KEEPS RATE UNCHANGED



India's central bank left its key interest rate unchanged, as widely expected, and maintained its accommodative stance.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India, led by Governor Shaktikanta Das, unanimously decided to retain the policy repo rate at 4.00 percent. The reverse repo rate was left unchanged at 3.35 percent.

The marginal standing facility rate and the bank rate remained unchanged at 4.25 percent.

The central bank today downgraded its growth outlook for the fiscal year 2022-23 to 7.2 percent from 7.8 percent.

At the same time, the bank raised its inflation forecast for the current fiscal year to 5.7 percent from 4.5 percent.

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[IFX Gertrude]

EUROPEAN ECONOMICS PREVIEW: UK GDP DATA DUE



Monthly GDP data from the UK is due on Monday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, the Office for National Statistics releases UK GDP, industrial production and foreign trade data for February. The UK economy is forecast grow 0.3 percent month-on-month, after rising 0.8 percent in January.

The UK visible trade deficit is seen narrowing to GBP 20 billion in February from GBP 26.5 billion in January.

In the meantime, Statistics Norway issues consumer and producer prices for March. Inflation is expected to rise to 5.0 percent from 3.7 percent in February.

At 3.00 am ET, consumer price data is due from the Czech Republic. Economists forecast inflation to advance to 12.4 percent in March from 11.1 percent in February. Also, unemployment and current account figures are due from Turkey.

At 8.00 am ET, the UK NIESR monthly GDP tracker is due for March.

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[IFX Gertrude]

UK UNEMPLOYMENT DECLINES; JOB VACANCIES AT RECORD HIGH



The UK unemployment declined in three months to February and job vacancies rose to a new record high, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday.

The jobless rate fell 0.2 percent points from the previous quarter to 3.8 percent in three months to February. The rate came in line with expectations.

At the same time, the employment rate was largely unchanged at 75.5 percent, but remained below the pre-pandemic level.

The number of job vacancies rose to a new record 1,288,000 in January to March period. However, the rate of growth in vacancies continued to slow down.

In March, payrolled employment showed a small monthly growth of 35,000 to a record 29.6 million, data showed.

Average earnings including bonuses, grew 5.4 percent annually in three months to February. Excluding bonus, average earnings was up 4.0 percent. Both rates matched economists' expectations.

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