China's yuan firms vs dollar, focus on Yellen's Jackson Hole speech

China's yuan firmed on Thursday, underpinned by a modest pullback in the dollar index in Asian morning trade though activity remained subdued.

Trading was cautious ahead of the global central bankers' gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's speech on Friday may offer fresh clues on US monetary policy outlook.

"Signals on US monetary policy trend appear quite mixed of late," said a trader at a European bank in Shanghai.

"So (Chinese) banks choose to take a wait-and-see attitude, not to quote yuan/dollar rates aggressively. As such, the yuan's movements this morning were quite insignificant."Click Here To Register For Free Trial Services OR Give A Missed Call : +6531581402 Follow Us On Twitter : www.twitter.com/epicresearchsg Like Us On Facebook : www.facebook.com/EpicResearchSingapore Need Any Assistance Feel Free To Mail Us at : info@epicresearch.sg

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China promises more monetary easing to spur growth

China’s top economic planner pledged to reduce companies’ financing costs by cutting interest rates as downward pressure on economic growth increases.

Decision makers will lower benchmark interest rates and banks’ reserve requirement ratio at appropriate times, the research department of the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement on its website Wednesday.

The government will work at easing financing difficulties faced by private firms by setting up government-led guarantee firms, the NDRC said.

The planning agency also said the government will offer more incentives for home buyers, such as subsidies, in some cities to help sell new homes.

An official gauge of the country’s factory activity showed a contraction for the first time in five months. China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers index edged down to 49.9 in July from June’s 50, a mark that separates expansion from contraction, official data showed Monday.

The central bank last lowered banks’ reserve requirement ratio, or the portion of deposits it asks banks to set aside as reserves, in March and cut benchmark interest rates October last year.
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Oil slides to lowest since 2003 as Iran sanctions lifted

Brent and US crude futures fell to the lowest since 2003 in Asian trading on Monday as the market braced for a jump in Iranian oil exports following the lifting of the sanctions at the weekend.

Iran is ready to increase its crude exports by 500,000 barrels a day, the deputy oil minister said on Sunday, hours after international sanctions on Tehran were lifted, removing an obstacle to exports.

London Brent crude for March delivery was down US$1.14 at US$27.80 ($40) a barrel by 2333 GMT, after touching an intraday low of US$27.70 earlier, the lowest since Nov 25, 2003.

NYMEX crude for February delivery was down 86 cents at US$28.56 a barrel, after falling more than US$1 earlier to US$28.36, the lowest since Oct 30, 2003.

Wall Street bled on Friday, with the S&P 500 sinking to its lowest since October 2014 as oil prices sank below US$30 per barrel and fears grew about economic trouble in China.

The safe-haven yen got off to a flying start on Monday, while the Australian dollar, usually sold off in times of market stress, stayed under pressure as Asian equities geared up for a torrid session following a big selloff on Wall Street.

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Singapore non-oil exports fall 7.2% in December

Non-oil domestic exports slipped by a worse-than-expected 7.2% y-o-y in December, the second straight month of contraction, after shipments to China fell more sharply.

In November, NODX fell 3.4%.

Economists polled by Reuters were expecting December NODX to fall 5.1%.

Shipments to all of Singapore's top 10 NODX markets, except the US, Japan and Hong Kong, contracted in December. Apart from China, they fell most sharply for South Korea and Taiwan.

On a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, NODX fell 3.1% last month, after November's 3.8% decrease, due to the contraction in non-electronic exports which outweighed the flat growth in electronic shipments.

Shipments to all of Singapore's top 10 NODX markets, except the US, Japan and Hong Kong, contracted in Dec. Apart from China, they fell most sharply for South Korea and Taiwan.

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