Economic news

Crude oil benchmarks suffered steep falls on Monday due to a worsening coronavirus pandemic and continuing price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. Brent hit its lowest since November 2002 after falling 6.7%, or $1.68, at $23.25 per barrel.  The US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell steeply to $19.92, almost at an 18-year low. […]

The dollar broke a week of declines as the Japanese yen climbed on Monday, while restrictions around the world intensified and markets remained scrambling. The dollar rose against the euro, pound, Australian dollar, and New Zealand dollar. The euro was down 0.5%, at $1.1082; the pound fell 0.7%, at $1.2371; and the Australian dollar last […]

TOKYO- Oil prices soared on Friday after global leaders assured fulfilling its promised measure  to inject large volume of funds to minimize the economic drag brought by coronavirus contagion. Upbeat performance followed despite the threat of contagion impacting crude demand. The Brent crude LCOc1 earned 50 cents after suffering for four consecutive weeks. The crude […]

TOKYO- Asian stocks recorded a well-ended performance on Friday as investors anticipated another set of stimulus measures to alleviate the drag brought by the novel coronavirus pandemic. Upbeat market mood followed after US unemployment statistics jumped at record-high. MSCI’S broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan inched up by 1.2%. Australian shares shed 1.09% and […]

The US Federal Reserve’s balance sheet rose up to more than $5 trillion in assets after taking up bonds and extended loans to banks, central banks, and mutual funds in its emergency measure to support the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Fed’s balance sheet size reached up to half a trillion dollars in a […]

Gold prices fell from its two-week high perch on Friday in Asia amid a recovery in equities. Gold Futures for April delivery last traded on the Comex exchange at $1,640, dropping by 0.7% by 12:55 AM ET (04:55 GMT). Despite the day’s losses, gold trade at a high above 8% for the week and has […]

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to cut interest rates unexpectedly on Friday in an emergency move to bolster the nation’s economy affected by the virus outbreak. The RBI’s move joins many other stimulus-boost efforts by central banks around the world. Its benchmark rate was cut by 75 basis points from 5.15% to 4.40% […]

China’s industrial firms’ profits sank to the lowest in a decade, with mining, manufacturing, and power sectors all suffering from steep declines due to the coronavirus impact. Profits in the first two months of the year fell 38.3% year-on-year, to 410.7 billion yuan ($58.15 billion), an even steeper fall from the 6.3% decline in December […]

SINGAPORE- Asian share markets started regular sessions in an anxious tone on Thursday after advancing for two consecutive days.  Such performance was observed as investors await for the implementation of the $2 trillion stimulus package in the U.S. to minimize the impact of virus to the global economy. Japanese benchmark index Nikkei lost 2.2% while […]

SHANGHAI- A sharp 14% drop in smartphone sales was monitored last February as the novel coronavirus continues to reach larger scale, according to Counterpoint Research on Thursday. Such may be the start of other market declines as the virus spreads across the globe.  The fast-paced coronavirus contagion urged Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and other mobile phone […]