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[IFXKerstin]

Taiwan Inflation Accelerates In July

Taiwan's inflation accelerated notably in July mainly on account of higher food prices, data released by the Director-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics showed Monday.
The consumer price index rose 2.46 percent year-on-year in July, faster than the 1.77 percent increase in the preceding month. Economists expected the index to rise 1.87 percent.
The core inflation was 0.96 percent. Food prices rose 6.27 percent annually, of which vegetables and fruit prices went up by 32.77 percent and 19.9 percent respectively. The CPI, excluding fruits and vegetables, increased just 1.29 percent.
Month-on-month, the CPI rose 0.38 percent and the core index rose 0.1 percent.
Taiwan's wholesale prices decreased 1.71 percent annually in July compared to expectations for a 1.5 percent fall. Month-on-month, the index dropped 0.08 percent.


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[IFXYana]

European Economics Preview: Germany Factory Orders Data Due

Factory orders from Germany and industrial production from the U.K. are due on Tuesday, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs is set to publish Swiss July unemployment data at 1.45 am ET. The jobless rate is seen unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 2.9 percent.
At 3.00 am ET, Hungary's industrial output figures are due. Economists forecast output to rise 2.2 percent annually in June, following a 1.9 percent rise in May.
Switzerland's Federal Statistical Office is scheduled to publish consumer prices for July. On a yearly basis, prices are expected ease at a slower pace of 0.8 percent after falling 1.1 percent in June.
At 3.30 am ET, Sweden's budget balance and Dutch industrial production are due.
Half an hour later, industrial production figures are due from Italy and Norway. Italy's industrial output is forecast to drop 1 percent month-on-month, following a 0.8 percent rise a month ago.
The Office for National Statistics is slated to publish U.K. industrial output data at 4.30 am ET. Industrial output is seen falling 3.5 percent month-on-month and manufacturing output to slip 5.7 percent.
At 5.00 am ET, Italy's GDP data is due. Economists forecast the economy to shrink 0.8 percent sequentially in the second quarter.
The Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology is slated to release German factory orders at 6.00 am ET. Factory orders are forecast to fall 0.8 percent on a monthly basis, reversing a 0.6 percent rise a month ago.
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[IFXKerstin]

Japan Has Y433.3 Billion Current Account Surplus

Japan posted a current account surplus of 433.3 billion yen in June, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday - down 19.6 percent on year and falling for the 16th consecutive month.
The headline figure topped forecasts for a surplus of 415.4 billion yen and a 24.9 percent annual contraction after showing a surplus of 215.1 billion and a 62.6 percent plunge in May.
The trade balance reflected a surplus of 112.0 billion yen, down 13.7 percent on year. That missed expectations for a surplus of 114.9 billion yen following the downwardly revised shortfall of 941.0 billion yen in the previous month (originally -848.2 billion yen).
Exports shed an annual 1.5 percent to 5.422 trillion yen in June. That follows the 11.3 percent jump in May, which came in at 5.054 trillion yen.
Imports eased 1.2 percent on year to 5.310 trillion yen in June, after posting an annual increase of 11.1 percent in the previous month to 5.902 trillion yen.
Goods and services saw a deficit of 81.5 billion yen in June after showing a shortfall of 941.0 billion yen a month earlier.
The financial account saw a deficit of 2.041 trillion yen, while the capital account posted a surplus of 18.8 billion yen.
The adjusted current account showed a surplus of 773.6 billion yen, beating forecasts for a surplus of 714.7 billion yen after coming in at 282.2 billion yen a month earlier.
Also on Wednesday, the Bank of Japan said that bank lending in Japan was up 1.0 percent on year in July, standing at 396.424 trillion yen. That beat forecasts for an increase of 0.8 percent, which would have been unchanged from the June reading.
Including trusts, bank lending was up an annual 0.7 percent after shedding a downwardly revised 0.6 percent in the previous month. Lending from foreign banks in Japan plummeted an annual 22.4 percent to 2.163 trillion yen after plunging 20.6 percent on year a month earlier.
Upon the release of the data, the Japanese yen held steady against major currencies, trading near 97.43 against the euro, 78.64 versus the U.S. dollar, 122.83 against the British pound and 81.11 versus the Swiss franc.

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[IFXKerstin]

Japan Has Y433.3 Billion Current Account Surplus

Japan posted a current account surplus of 433.3 billion yen in June, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday - down 19.6 percent on year and falling for the 16th consecutive month.
The headline figure topped forecasts for a surplus of 415.4 billion yen and a 24.9 percent annual contraction after showing a surplus of 215.1 billion and a 62.6 percent plunge in May.
The trade balance reflected a surplus of 112.0 billion yen, down 13.7 percent on year. That missed expectations for a surplus of 114.9 billion yen following the downwardly revised shortfall of 941.0 billion yen in the previous month (originally -848.2 billion yen).
Exports shed an annual 1.5 percent to 5.422 trillion yen in June. That follows the 11.3 percent jump in May, which came in at 5.054 trillion yen.
Imports eased 1.2 percent on year to 5.310 trillion yen in June, after posting an annual increase of 11.1 percent in the previous month to 5.902 trillion yen.
Goods and services saw a deficit of 81.5 billion yen in June after showing a shortfall of 941.0 billion yen a month earlier.
The financial account saw a deficit of 2.041 trillion yen, while the capital account posted a surplus of 18.8 billion yen.
The adjusted current account showed a surplus of 773.6 billion yen, beating forecasts for a surplus of 714.7 billion yen after coming in at 282.2 billion yen a month earlier.
Also on Wednesday, the Bank of Japan said that bank lending in Japan was up 1.0 percent on year in July, standing at 396.424 trillion yen. That beat forecasts for an increase of 0.8 percent, which would have been unchanged from the June reading.
Including trusts, bank lending was up an annual 0.7 percent after shedding a downwardly revised 0.6 percent in the previous month. Lending from foreign banks in Japan plummeted an annual 22.4 percent to 2.163 trillion yen after plunging 20.6 percent on year a month earlier.
Upon the release of the data, the Japanese yen held steady against major currencies, trading near 97.43 against the euro, 78.64 versus the U.S. dollar, 122.83 against the British pound and 81.11 versus the Swiss franc.

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[IFXKerstin]

Chinese Yuan Climbs To 5-week High Against U.S. Dollar

The Chinese yuan spiked up against the U.S. dollar on Thursday in Asia. The yuan approached 6.3517 against the greenback for the first time since July 5. On the upside, the yuan may target 6.35 level. The pair closed yesterday's deals at 6.3623.
Consumer prices in China were up 1.8 percent on year in July, the National Bureau of Statistics said today.
That was slightly above forecasts for 1.7 percent, which would have been a 30-month low. It was also down significantly from the 2.2 percent reading in June.
The People's Bank of China set today's central parity rate for the yuan at 6.3387 per dollar, compared to yesterday's daily reference rate of 6.3378. The Chinese central bank sets the central parity rate every morning and allows the currency to fluctuate up to 1 percent from the level.

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[IFXKerstin]

Singapore GDP Falls 0.7% On Quarter In Q2

Singapore's gross domestic product contracted a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent in the second quarter of 2012 compared to the previous three months, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Friday.
That's an improvement from last month's advance reading that called for a 1.1 percent contraction. GDP was up 9.5 percent in the first quarter.
GDP was down 2.5 percent on quarter in Q4 2011, up 1.5 percent in the third quarter and up 0.9 percent in Q2.
On a yearly basis, GDP was up 2.0 percent, up from the 1.9 percent advance reading and also up from the 1.5 percent increase in the previous three months.
The manufacturing sector was the key detriment as it contracted 0.5 percent on quarter after surging a revised 20.8 percent in the previous three months. The sector climbed 4.5 percent on year.
"The pull-back in quarter-on-quarter growth was largely due to the decline in externally-oriented sectors such as electronics manufacturing, as well as wholesale trade and tourism-related services," the MTI said in a statement accompanying the data. "Growth in the electronics cluster remained weak, while the transport engineering and biomedical manufacturing clusters provided growth support."
The construction sector added 5.3 percent on year, slowing from the 6.9 percent growth in the preceding quarter. On a sequential basis, the sector decelerated to 0.9 percent from 27.9 percent in the preceding quarter, largely due to a slowdown in construction activities in the institutional and others segment, the ministry said.
The wholesale and retail trade sector contracted 0.4 percent on year, following the 0.3 percent decline in the previous quarter. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the sector contracted by an annualized rate of 0.4 percent, mainly due to the deterioration in the wholesale trade segment. The transportation & storage sector grew at a moderated pace of 1.6 percent on year, and 7.2 percent on quarter.
Growth in the finance and insurance sector was flat at 0.1 percent on year, down from 0.5 percent in the preceding quarter. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the sector grew at 2.1 percent (annualized), largely due to continued sluggishness in sentiment-sensitive activities such as stock market trading, the MTI said.
While the business services sector added 3.0 percent on year, it was down 3.0 percent (annualized) on quarter as economic uncertainty weighed down on business and management consultancy activities.
Upon the release of the data, the Ministry of Trade and Industry narrowed its GDP growth forecast for 2012 to 1.5 to 2.5 percent; originally, it was 1.0 to 3.0 percent.
"Given the macroeconomic backdrop, the growth outlook for the Singapore economy remains cautious," the MTI said. "Externally-oriented sectors, in particular electronics, wholesale and tourism-related services, will be affected by the slowdown in advanced economies. Continued uncertainties in the external environment will also weigh down on sentiment-sensitive segments within the finance and insurance sector. Nonetheless, there will be modest support to growth from healthy expansion in the transport engineering cluster and construction sector."

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[IFXKerstin]

Japanese Economy Slows More Than Expected

Japan's gross domestic product added just 0.3 percent in the second quarter of 2012 compared to the previous three months, the Cabinet Office said on Monday in a preliminary reading - suggesting that the recovery from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami remains stuck in neutral.

The headline figure missed forecasts for an increase of 0.6 percent following the 1.6 percent gain in the first quarter.
On a yearly basis, GDP added 1.4 percent - also shy of expectations for a jump of 2.5 percent following the 4.7 percent gain in the previous three months.

In a statement accompanying the release of the data, Economics Minister Motohisa Furukawa pointed out that the Japanese economy is growing and is expected to continue to do so in Q3 and beyond.
"Japan's economy continues in an uptrend led by domestic demand," he said.

Furukawa acknowledged the slowdown, citing the persistent debt woes in Europe as the chief culprit.
Nominal GDP fell 0.1 percent on quarter, missing forecasts for a gain of 0.4 percent after collecting 1.2 percent in the three months prior.

The GDP deflator dropped an annual 1.1 percent versus forecasts for a contraction of 0.8 percent, but up from the -1.3 percent showing in the first quarter.

Private consumption was up just 0.1 percent on quarter, missing forecasts for an increase of 0.3 percent.
External demand eased 0.1 percentage point from GDP, while domestic demand added 0.4 point, the data showed.

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[IFXKerstin]

Australian Business Conditions Deteriorates, Confidence Improves in July - Nab

NAB' survey of businessman revealed that Business conditions deteriorated to -3 from -1 in July but confidence was up sharply at +4 from -3
Deteriorating profits (-7) and falling retail sales (-3) remained the main reason behind the fall in conditions, while , progress in European debt crisis may have boosted business confidence according NAB economist
Index of employment was up 3 points to -1

Quotes

"The persistent divergence in industry conditions indicates that the Australian economy is undergoing a structural transformation towards mining and service-based industries, and away from traditional manufacturing and discretionary retailing,"
"If the RBA were to lower rates again, it would most likely occur at the back-end of this year and this would require a material slowing in the labor market and domestic activity,"

NAB Economist


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[IFXKerstin]

Pound Drops To 2-day Low Against US Dollar

The British sterling slipped to a 2-day low of 1.5666 against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday morning in Asia, compared to 1.5679 hit late New York Tuesday.
The cable is now staying at its 38.2 percent retracement level between its April-June highs and lows in the daily chart. If the level broken, next key support levels to watch are 1.5580 and 1.5515.


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[IFXKerstin]

New Zealand PMI Dips To 49.4 In July

The manufacturing sector in New Zealand slipped unexpectedly into contraction in July, the results of the Business NZ Performance of Manufacturing Index on Thursday - showing a score of 49.4.
That's down from the revised reading of 50.0 in June, which was originally pegged at 50.2.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion in a sector, while a reading below 50 signals contraction.
Among the individual components of the survey, new orders came in at 52.9, followed by production (49.6), deliveries (49.1), finished stocks (47.5) and employment (47.7).


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