Asian Stock Markets
China’s exports growth unexpectedly fell in March, the first drop since
February last year, raising questions about the health of one of the
economy’s key growth drivers even as trade tensions rapidly escalate
with the United States.
March import growth beat expectations, however, suggesting its domestic demand may still be solid enough to cushion the blow from any trade shocks. That left China with a rare trade deficit for the month, also the first drop since last February.
The latest readings on the health of China’s trade sector follow weeks of tit-for-tat tariff threats by Washington and Beijing, sparked by U.S. frustration with China’s massive bilateral trade surplus and intellectual property policies, that have fuelled fears of a global trade war.
China’s March exports fell 2.7 percent from a year earlier, lagging analysts’ forecasts for a 10.0 percent increase, and down from a sharper-than-expected 44.5 percent jump in February, which economists believe was heavily distorted by seasonal factors.
For the first quarter as a whole, however, exports still grew a hearty 14.1 percent.
Some analysts had expected a pullback in March exports following an unusually strong start to the year, when firms stepped up shipments before the long Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February.
That scenario did not alter their view that global demand remains robust.
But a stronger currency could also be starting to erode Chinese exporters' competitiveness. The yuan CNY=CFXS appreciated around 3.7 percent against the U.S. dollar in the first quarter this year, on top of a 6.6 percent gain last year.
No hard timeline has been set by either Washington or Beijing for the actual imposition of tariffs, which leaves the door open to negotiations and a possible compromise which could limit the damage to both sides and other trade-reliant economies.
But analysts said the trade threats may already be having an impact on exporters’ activity.
With the threat of tariffs hanging over nearly a third of China’s exports to the United States,
economists at Nomura say its companies may have front-loaded shipments early this year before any measures kick in.
China’s exports to the U.S. rose 14.8 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, while imports rose 8.9 percent.
That sent its quarterly trade surplus with the U.S. surging 19.4 percent to $58.25 billion (£40.9 billion), though the March reading narrowed to $15.43 billion from $20.96 billion in February.
China’s total aluminium exports in March rose to their highest since June, just as the United States imposed tariffs on imports of the metal and steel on March 23.
China’s overall March imports grew 14.4 percent from a year ago, beating analysts’ forecast for 10.0 percent growth, and compared with 6.3 percent growth in February.
That produced a trade deficit of $4.98 billion for the month, but such shortfalls are not uncommon for China early in the year, likely due to seasonal factors.
For Jan-March, imports rose a strong 18.9 percent on-year.
Analysts expected China would record a trade surplus of $27.21 billion for last month, from February’s surplus of $33.75 billion.
Imports of commodities continued to lead the way in March, with shipments of copper, crude oil, iron ore and soybeans all rising from the previous month.
China’s exports rode a global trade boom last year, expanding at the fastest pace since 2013 and serving as one of the key drivers behind the economy’s forecast-beating expansion.
But the sudden spike in trade tensions with the United States is clouding the outlook for both China’s “old economy” heavy industries and “new economy” tech firms.
Washington says China’s $375 billion trade surplus with the United States is unacceptable, and has demanded Beijing reduce it by $100 billion immediately.
In a move to further force China to lower the billions of goods trade surplus running with the U.S., Trump unveiled tariff representing about $50 billion of technology, transport and medical products early this month, drawing an immediate threat of retaliatory action from Beijing.
China’s tech sector, which is key part of Beijing’s longer-term “Made in China 2025” strategy to move from cheap goods to higher-value manufacturing, may be particularly vulnerable.
Hi-tech products have been among its fastest growing export segments. China exported $137.8 billion worth of high-tech products in the first quarter, up 20.5 percent on-year.
March import growth beat expectations, however, suggesting its domestic demand may still be solid enough to cushion the blow from any trade shocks. That left China with a rare trade deficit for the month, also the first drop since last February.
The latest readings on the health of China’s trade sector follow weeks of tit-for-tat tariff threats by Washington and Beijing, sparked by U.S. frustration with China’s massive bilateral trade surplus and intellectual property policies, that have fuelled fears of a global trade war.
China’s March exports fell 2.7 percent from a year earlier, lagging analysts’ forecasts for a 10.0 percent increase, and down from a sharper-than-expected 44.5 percent jump in February, which economists believe was heavily distorted by seasonal factors.
For the first quarter as a whole, however, exports still grew a hearty 14.1 percent.
Some analysts had expected a pullback in March exports following an unusually strong start to the year, when firms stepped up shipments before the long Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February.
That scenario did not alter their view that global demand remains robust.
But a stronger currency could also be starting to erode Chinese exporters' competitiveness. The yuan CNY=CFXS appreciated around 3.7 percent against the U.S. dollar in the first quarter this year, on top of a 6.6 percent gain last year.
No hard timeline has been set by either Washington or Beijing for the actual imposition of tariffs, which leaves the door open to negotiations and a possible compromise which could limit the damage to both sides and other trade-reliant economies.
But analysts said the trade threats may already be having an impact on exporters’ activity.
With the threat of tariffs hanging over nearly a third of China’s exports to the United States,
economists at Nomura say its companies may have front-loaded shipments early this year before any measures kick in.
China’s exports to the U.S. rose 14.8 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, while imports rose 8.9 percent.
That sent its quarterly trade surplus with the U.S. surging 19.4 percent to $58.25 billion (£40.9 billion), though the March reading narrowed to $15.43 billion from $20.96 billion in February.
China’s total aluminium exports in March rose to their highest since June, just as the United States imposed tariffs on imports of the metal and steel on March 23.
China’s overall March imports grew 14.4 percent from a year ago, beating analysts’ forecast for 10.0 percent growth, and compared with 6.3 percent growth in February.
That produced a trade deficit of $4.98 billion for the month, but such shortfalls are not uncommon for China early in the year, likely due to seasonal factors.
For Jan-March, imports rose a strong 18.9 percent on-year.
Analysts expected China would record a trade surplus of $27.21 billion for last month, from February’s surplus of $33.75 billion.
Imports of commodities continued to lead the way in March, with shipments of copper, crude oil, iron ore and soybeans all rising from the previous month.
China’s exports rode a global trade boom last year, expanding at the fastest pace since 2013 and serving as one of the key drivers behind the economy’s forecast-beating expansion.
But the sudden spike in trade tensions with the United States is clouding the outlook for both China’s “old economy” heavy industries and “new economy” tech firms.
Washington says China’s $375 billion trade surplus with the United States is unacceptable, and has demanded Beijing reduce it by $100 billion immediately.
In a move to further force China to lower the billions of goods trade surplus running with the U.S., Trump unveiled tariff representing about $50 billion of technology, transport and medical products early this month, drawing an immediate threat of retaliatory action from Beijing.
China’s tech sector, which is key part of Beijing’s longer-term “Made in China 2025” strategy to move from cheap goods to higher-value manufacturing, may be particularly vulnerable.
Hi-tech products have been among its fastest growing export segments. China exported $137.8 billion worth of high-tech products in the first quarter, up 20.5 percent on-year.
Oil prices edged lower
on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump tempered remarks warning of
an imminent missile attack on Syria, but were still set for their
biggest weekly gains in more than 8 months.
NYMEX crude for May delivery CLc1 was down 21 cents, or 0.3 percent, at
$66.86 a barrel at 0329 GMT. For the week, the contract is set to post a
gain of nearly 8 percent, following two weeks of declines, Reuters
said.
Read alsoReuters: Oil dips on rising U.S. supplies, market still tense
on conflict in Syria
London Brent crude LCOc1 was down 24 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $71.78,
and is up about 7 percent for the week.
Both benchmarks are set for their biggest weekly gains since last July
after surging to a more than three-year high earlier in the week on
tensions over Syria and shrinking global oil inventories.
"This last jump of $5 or so is because of the geopolitical situation
caused by the situation in Syria," said Tony Nunan, senior oil risk
manager at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo.
"It looks like Trump backed off a little bit and wants to build a
coalition, sending a signal to the broader market that he is going to be
much more careful than people thought."
Oil prices hit their highest level since late 2014 on Wednesday after
Trump warned that missiles "will be coming" in response to the attack in
Syria and Saudi Arabia said it intercepted missiles over Riyadh, both
of which raised concerns about possible supply disruptions.
Trump tempered his comments on Thursday and even as he consulted allies
such as Britain and France, who could join in any U.S.-led strikes on
Syria, there were signs of efforts to prevent the crisis from spiraling
out of control.
Trump tweeted an attack on Syria "could be very soon or not so soon at
all" raising the prospect that an attack might not be as imminent as he
seemed to suggest the day before.
On fundamentals, OPEC said on Thursday a global oil stocks surplus is
close to evaporating, citing healthy energy demand and its own supply
cuts, while revising up its forecast for production from rivals who have
benefited from higher oil prices.
OPEC and its oil producer allies are poised to extend their
supply-cutting pact into 2019 even as a global glut of crude is set to
evaporate by September, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo told
Reuters.
China's crude oil imports rose to 9.2 million barrels per day in March,
the second highest on record, according to Reuters calculations based on
official customs data.
Read more on UNIAN: https://economics.unian.info/10079402-reuters-oil-eases-as-trump-backtracks-on-imminent-syria-strike.html
Read more on UNIAN: https://economics.unian.info/10079402-reuters-oil-eases-as-trump-backtracks-on-imminent-syria-strike.html
Oil prices edged lower
on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump tempered remarks warning of
an imminent missile attack on Syria, but were still set for their
biggest weekly gains in more than 8 months.
NYMEX crude for May delivery CLc1 was down 21 cents, or 0.3 percent, at
$66.86 a barrel at 0329 GMT. For the week, the contract is set to post a
gain of nearly 8 percent, following two weeks of declines, Reuters
said.
Read alsoReuters: Oil dips on rising U.S. supplies, market still tense
on conflict in Syria
London Brent crude LCOc1 was down 24 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $71.78,
and is up about 7 percent for the week.
Both benchmarks are set for their biggest weekly gains since last July
after surging to a more than three-year high earlier in the week on
tensions over Syria and shrinking global oil inventories.
"This last jump of $5 or so is because of the geopolitical situation
caused by the situation in Syria," said Tony Nunan, senior oil risk
manager at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo.
"It looks like Trump backed off a little bit and wants to build a
coalition, sending a signal to the broader market that he is going to be
much more careful than people thought."
Oil prices hit their highest level since late 2014 on Wednesday after
Trump warned that missiles "will be coming" in response to the attack in
Syria and Saudi Arabia said it intercepted missiles over Riyadh, both
of which raised concerns about possible supply disruptions.
Trump tempered his comments on Thursday and even as he consulted allies
such as Britain and France, who could join in any U.S.-led strikes on
Syria, there were signs of efforts to prevent the crisis from spiraling
out of control.
Trump tweeted an attack on Syria "could be very soon or not so soon at
all" raising the prospect that an attack might not be as imminent as he
seemed to suggest the day before.
On fundamentals, OPEC said on Thursday a global oil stocks surplus is
close to evaporating, citing healthy energy demand and its own supply
cuts, while revising up its forecast for production from rivals who have
benefited from higher oil prices.
OPEC and its oil producer allies are poised to extend their
supply-cutting pact into 2019 even as a global glut of crude is set to
evaporate by September, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo told
Reuters.
China's crude oil imports rose to 9.2 million barrels per day in March,
the second highest on record, according to Reuters calculations based on
official customs data.
Read more on UNIAN: https://economics.unian.info/10079402-reuters-oil-eases-as-trump-backtracks-on-imminent-syria-strike.html
Read more on UNIAN: https://economics.unian.info/10079402-reuters-oil-eases-as-trump-backtracks-on-imminent-syria-strike.html
Oil prices edged lower
on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump tempered remarks warning of
an imminent missile attack on Syria, but were still set for their
biggest weekly gains in more than 8 months.
NYMEX crude for May delivery CLc1 was down 21 cents, or 0.3 percent, at
$66.86 a barrel at 0329 GMT. For the week, the contract is set to post a
gain of nearly 8 percent, following two weeks of declines, Reuters
said.
Read alsoReuters: Oil dips on rising U.S. supplies, market still tense
on conflict in Syria
London Brent crude LCOc1 was down 24 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $71.78,
and is up about 7 percent for the week.
Both benchmarks are set for their biggest weekly gains since last July
after surging to a more than three-year high earlier in the week on
tensions over Syria and shrinking global oil inventories.
"This last jump of $5 or so is because of the geopolitical situation
caused by the situation in Syria," said Tony Nunan, senior oil risk
manager at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo.
"It looks like Trump backed off a little bit and wants to build a
coalition, sending a signal to the broader market that he is going to be
much more careful than people thought."
Oil prices hit their highest level since late 2014 on Wednesday after
Trump warned that missiles "will be coming" in response to the attack in
Syria and Saudi Arabia said it intercepted missiles over Riyadh, both
of which raised concerns about possible supply disruptions.
Trump tempered his comments on Thursday and even as he consulted allies
such as Britain and France, who could join in any U.S.-led strikes on
Syria, there were signs of efforts to prevent the crisis from spiraling
out of control.
Trump tweeted an attack on Syria "could be very soon or not so soon at
all" raising the prospect that an attack might not be as imminent as he
seemed to suggest the day before.
On fundamentals, OPEC said on Thursday a global oil stocks surplus is
close to evaporating, citing healthy energy demand and its own supply
cuts, while revising up its forecast for production from rivals who have
benefited from higher oil prices.
OPEC and its oil producer allies are poised to extend their
supply-cutting pact into 2019 even as a global glut of crude is set to
evaporate by September, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo told
Reuters.
China's crude oil imports rose to 9.2 million barrels per day in March,
the second highest on record, according to Reuters calculations based on
official customs data.
Read more on UNIAN: https://economics.unian.info/10079402-reuters-oil-eases-as-trump-backtracks-on-imminent-syria-strike.html
Read more on UNIAN: https://economics.unian.info/10079402-reuters-oil-eases-as-trump-backtracks-on-imminent-syria-strike.html
Oil prices edged lower
on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump tempered remarks warning of
an imminent missile attack on Syria, but were still set for their
biggest weekly gains in more than 8 months.
NYMEX crude for May delivery CLc1 was down 21 cents, or 0.3 percent, at
$66.86 a barrel at 0329 GMT. For the week, the contract is set to post a
gain of nearly 8 percent, following two weeks of declines, Reuters
said.
Read alsoReuters: Oil dips on rising U.S. supplies, market still tense
on conflict in Syria
London Brent crude LCOc1 was down 24 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $71.78,
and is up about 7 percent for the week.
Both benchmarks are set for their biggest weekly gains since last July
after surging to a more than three-year high earlier in the week on
tensions over Syria and shrinking global oil inventories.
"This last jump of $5 or so is because of the geopolitical situation
caused by the situation in Syria," said Tony Nunan, senior oil risk
manager at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo.
"It looks like Trump backed off a little bit and wants to build a
coalition, sending a signal to the broader market that he is going to be
much more careful than people thought."
Oil prices hit their highest level since late 2014 on Wednesday after
Trump warned that missiles "will be coming" in response to the attack in
Syria and Saudi Arabia said it intercepted missiles over Riyadh, both
of which raised concerns about possible supply disruptions.
Trump tempered his comments on Thursday and even as he consulted allies
such as Britain and France, who could join in any U.S.-led strikes on
Syria, there were signs of efforts to prevent the crisis from spiraling
out of control.
Trump tweeted an attack on Syria "could be very soon or not so soon at
all" raising the prospect that an attack might not be as imminent as he
seemed to suggest the day before.
On fundamentals, OPEC said on Thursday a global oil stocks surplus is
close to evaporating, citing healthy energy demand and its own supply
cuts, while revising up its forecast for production from rivals who have
benefited from higher oil prices.
OPEC and its oil producer allies are poised to extend their
supply-cutting pact into 2019 even as a global glut of crude is set to
evaporate by September, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo told
Reuters.
China's crude oil imports rose to 9.2 million barrels per day in March,
the second highest on record, according to Reuters calculations based on
official customs data.
Read more on UNIAN: https://economics.unian.info/10079402-reuters-oil-eases-as-trump-backtracks-on-imminent-syria-strike.html
Read more on UNIAN: https://economics.unian.info/10079402-reuters-oil-eases-as-trump-backtracks-on-imminent-syria-strike.html
Oil prices edged lower
on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump tempered remarks warning of
an imminent missile attack on Syria, but were still set for their
biggest weekly gains in more than 8 months.
NYMEX crude for May delivery CLc1 was down 21 cents, or 0.3 percent, at
$66.86 a barrel at 0329 GMT. For the week, the contract is set to post a
gain of nearly 8 percent, following two weeks of declines, Reuters
said.
Read alsoReuters: Oil dips on rising U.S. supplies, market still tense
on conflict in Syria
London Brent crude LCOc1 was down 24 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $71.78,
and is up about 7 percent for the week.
Both benchmarks are set for their biggest weekly gains since last July
after surging to a more than three-year high earlier in the week on
tensions over Syria and shrinking global oil inventories.
"This last jump of $5 or so is because of the geopolitical situation
caused by the situation in Syria," said Tony Nunan, senior oil risk
manager at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo.
"It looks like Trump backed off a little bit and wants to build a
coalition, sending a signal to the broader market that he is going to be
much more careful than people thought."
Oil prices hit their highest level since late 2014 on Wednesday after
Trump warned that missiles "will be coming" in response to the attack in
Syria and Saudi Arabia said it intercepted missiles over Riyadh, both
of which raised concerns about possible supply disruptions.
Trump tempered his comments on Thursday and even as he consulted allies
such as Britain and France, who could join in any U.S.-led strikes on
Syria, there were signs of efforts to prevent the crisis from spiraling
out of control.
Trump tweeted an attack on Syria "could be very soon or not so soon at
all" raising the prospect that an attack might not be as imminent as he
seemed to suggest the day before.
On fundamentals, OPEC said on Thursday a global oil stocks surplus is
close to evaporating, citing healthy energy demand and its own supply
cuts, while revising up its forecast for production from rivals who have
benefited from higher oil prices.
OPEC and its oil producer allies are poised to extend their
supply-cutting pact into 2019 even as a global glut of crude is set to
evaporate by September, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo told
Reuters.
China's crude oil imports rose to 9.2 million barrels per day in March,
the second highest on record, according to Reuters calculations based on
official customs data.
Read more on UNIAN: https://economics.unian.info/10079402-reuters-oil-eases-as-trump-backtracks-on-imminent-syria-strike.html
Read more on UNIAN: https://economics.unian.info/10079402-reuters-oil-eases-as-trump-backtracks-on-imminent-syria-strike.html
No comments:
Post a Comment