ECONOMY
On Friday, Asia Indices consolidated weekly gains as China - U.S. talks dragged on with no concrete conclusions, while caution ahead of U.S. payrolls and a holiday in China and Hong Kong dampened volatility. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed and near its highest since the end of August.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut its policy interest rate by 25 basis points on Thursday, in a widely expected move to boost the economy just a week before voting begins in an election that will decide whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi gets a second term.
On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said a deal could be announced in about four weeks, but warned it would be difficult to let China trade with the United States if remaining issues were not resolved.
Investors are also waiting on the U.S. payrolls report which is forecast to bounce back by 180,000 in March, following February’s distorted 20,000 rise. One focus will be hourly earnings which climbed to 3.4 percent in February, the fastest pace since April 2009. Hopes for a solid number were boosted by data on jobless claims which fell to a 49-year low last week, pointing to sustained labour market strength.
Reuters reported Saudi Arabia is threatening to sell its oil in currencies other than the dollar if Washington passes a bill exposing OPEC members to U.S. antitrust lawsuits, three sources familiar with Saudi energy policy said.
Germany Industrial orders there fell by the most in more than two years in February as foreign demand slumped, another sign that Europe’s largest economy had a weak start to the year.
Pro-Brexit lawmakers in Britain’s upper house of parliament tried on Thursday to thwart the approval of a new law that would force Prime Minister Theresa May to seek a delay to prevent a disorderly EU exit on April 12 without a deal. A source close to negotiations on the timetable for the bill said they expected it to be finalized on Monday.
CURRENCY
The progress on trade was enough to keep dollar upside back to 97.312, from Wednesday’s low of 96.962. the safe-haven yen under pressure and lift the dollar to its highest in three weeks at 111.79.
The euro was flat at $1.1224 having dipped overnight in the wake of poor German data.
The Pound was stalled at $1.3077 as markets awaited some clarity on where Brexit was heading.
The Australian dollar was a touch higher at $0.7120. The currency has risen about 0.3 percent this week, supported as signs of progress in the U.S.-China trade dispute lifted risk assets and commodity prices.
COMMODITY
Brent oil had briefly touched $70 a barrel for the first time since November on Thursday as expectations of tight global supply outweighed pressure from rising U.S. production. Brent crude futures were off 15 cents at $69.25, while U.S. crude rose 3 cents to $62.13 a barrel.
spot gold steadied at $1,291.61 per ounce after touching a near 10-week low overnight.
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