The Central Bank of the Philippines increased the discount rate by 50 basis points
Central Bank of the Philippines raised It raised interest rates by 50 basis points to 5.5%, pushing the key rate to a 14-year high, in line with analysts’ forecasts in a Reuters poll.
Mohamed Faiz Nagutha, ASEAN economist at Bank of America Global Research, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will follow the US Federal Reserve and continue to hike rates in early 2023.
He added that the central bank will continue to increase the discount rate to 6%, or 50 basis points above the current rate.
– Charmaine Jacob
China reopening ‘necessary’ to lower US inflation: Siegel
Wharton Business School professor Jeremy Siegel told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” that China’s economic reopening has been delayed but is much needed to control inflationary pressures in the United States.
“For the US, we import so much from China that if these supply chains normalize, it will bring down inflation, so I welcome China’s move,” he said. “It’s too late, it should have been sooner, but it’s needed,” he said.
Siegel added that he expects the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by 25 basis points ahead of its February meeting.
— Jihye Lee
There is a significant loss in China’s November retail sales
China’s industrial production rose 2.2% in November, after seeing a 5% increase in October, according to official data. That’s below expectations for a 3.6% increase in a Reuters poll.
Retail sales fell 5.9% year-on-year, above expectations for a 3.7% drop in a Reuters poll and a 0.5% drop in the previous month.
— Jihye Lee
JPMorgan expects Asian markets to end the week on a cautious note following the Fed’s hike
JPMorgan expects Asia-Pacific markets to end the week on a cautious note following the Federal Reserve’s 50 basis point rate hike.
“Given the reaction of the US market after the FOMC meeting, we expect Asian markets to end the week on a more cautious tone,” Tai Hui, the firm’s chief market strategist for Asia-Pacific, said in a note.
Tai added that weaker inflation pressure is needed before the Fed’s hawkishness fades, while there may be more optimism in the region about China’s pending reopening.
“Medium-term prospects for China’s economic reopening and Asia’s domestic demand resilience may be a bright spot as the US and Europe face more growth challenges,” Tai said. “We’ll need weaker inflation data for the Fed to tone down its hawkishness.”
— Jihye Lee
South Korea’s revised trade data shows a slightly narrowed trade deficit
South Korea’s revised trade data for November was flat, official date It is shown from the Bank of Korea.
While imports rose 2.7%, exports fell 14% in line with the previous month’s reading, resulting in a trade deficit of $6.99 billion, narrowing slightly from the previous month’s reading of $7.01 billion.
Import prices rose 14.2% from a year ago after rising 19.8% from the previous month. Export prices rose 8.6% in November from a year earlier, after rising 13.7% in October.
— Jihye Lee
Japan’s trade data beat estimates, with trade deficit wider than expected
Japan’s exports and imports for November rose more than expected on a year-on-year basis. the official date is shown.
Exports rose 20% for the month, beating expectations of 19.8% in a Reuters poll. Imports rose 30.3%, higher than the 27% expected in a Reuters poll.
That resulted in a wider-than-expected trade deficit of 2.02 trillion yen ($14.91 billion) after posting 2.16 trillion yen ($15.96 billion) in the previous month.
— Jihye Lee
CNBC Pro: Missed China’s reopening rally? Bank of America names global stocks to pass second round
Investors will get a second chance to take part in the stock market rally after China announced the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, according to Bank of America.
The bank named more than 10 stocks after finding “green shoots of recovery in high-frequency data” pointing to rising earnings in companies exporting to China.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
– Ganesh Rao
Australia’s unemployment rate is in line with expectations
Australia’s unemployment rate for November remained at 3.5% on an annual basis, in line with expectations from a Reuters poll.
Official data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics the rate of participation in labor also remained at 66.7%, and the ratio of employment to the population remained at 64.4%.
Monthly working hours increased to 1.89 billion.
— Jihye Lee
The FED has announced that it will increase the interest rate by 50 points
The Fed announced it would raise interest rates by 50 basis points, ending a pattern of 75 basis point hikes seen in recent months.
Prior to this move, the Fed had increased the interest rate by 75 points in its last four meetings. A basis point is equal to 0.01%.
A 50 basis point hike was widely expected ahead of the meeting.
This is the last policy decision from the central bank, which is expected in 2022.
— Alex Harring
Powell wants “significantly more evidence” that inflation is cooling
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that recent positive signs on inflation are not enough for the central bank to reverse interest rate hikes.
“More evidence will be needed to be sure that inflation is on a sustained downward path,” Powell said at a post-meeting news conference.
The comments came as the Fed raised its benchmark rate by another half a percentage point and said at least three-quarters of the hikes were coming. The decision also comes a day after the consumer price index reading rose just 0.1% in November, indicating that inflation has peaked.
However, Powell said inflation remains a problem.
“Price pressures remain evident across a wide range of goods and services,” Powell added.
– Jeff Cox
