- USDTHB: moving in the range 36.675-36.77 this morning supportive level at 36.50 resistance level at 36.80
· SET Index: 1,408.2 (+0.50%), 10 Apr 2024
· S&P 500 Index: 5,106.6 (-0.95%), 10 Apr 2024
· Thai 10-year government bond yield (interpolated): 2.66 (+4.09 bps), 10 Apr 2024
· US 10-year treasury yield: 4.55 (+19.00 bps), 10 Apr 2024
- US consumer prices heat up in March; seen delaying Fed rate cut
- Fitch cuts China’s outlook to ‘Negative’ on risks from debt, weak growth
- Thai central bank holds key rate, defies government calls for cuts
- US dollar surges to new 34-year high vs yen after hotter-than-expected inflation data
US consumer prices heat up in
March; seen delaying Fed rate cut US consumer prices increased
more than expected in March as Americans continued to pay more for gasoline and
rental housing, leading financial markets to anticipate that the Federal
Reserve would delay cutting interest rates until September. The third straight
month of strong consumer price readings reported by the Labor Department on
Wednesday also suggested that the pickup in inflation in January and February
could not be solely attributed to businesses raising prices at the start of the
year as economists had argued. The report followed news last week that job
growth accelerated in March, with the unemployment rate slipping to 3.8% from
3.9% in February.
The stubbornly higher cost of living looms large over the Nov. 5 presidential
election.
Fitch cuts China’s outlook to ‘Negative’ on risks from debt, weak growth Fitch Ratings downgraded China’s credit rating outlook, citing concerns over growing public debt and slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy. Fitch downgraded the country’s credit rating outlook to “Negative” from “Stable,” although it still affirmed China’s rating at A+. Fitch expects China’s gross domestic product to fall to 4.5% in 2024 from 5.2% in 2023, missing government forecasts of 5% amid persistent weakness in the property market and weak consumer spending. While the headwinds are expected to be somewhat offset by increased fiscal stimulus, this also presents a higher outlook for debt. Fitch said it expected government debt to rise to 61.3% of GDP in 2024 from 56.1% in 2023- underpinned chiefly by increased fiscal support from Beijing to shore up economic growth.
Thai central bank holds key rate, defies government calls for cuts Thailand's central bank left its key interest rate unchanged for a third straight meeting, resisting repeated calls by the government to lower borrowing costs to help revive Southeast Asia's second-largest economy. The Bank of Thailand's (BOT) monetary policy committee voted 5-2 to hold the one-day repurchase rate at 2.50%, the highest in more than a decade. It had raised the rate by 200 basis points since August 2022 to curb inflation. "The majority of the committee deems that the current policy interest rate is conducive to safeguarding macro-financial stability, and that the effectiveness of monetary policy on resolving structural impediments is limited," the BOT said in a statement. Of 26 economists in a Reuters poll, 16 forecast a hold on Wednesday while the other 10 had forecast a quarter-point cut. The BOT lowered its 2024 GDP growth forecast to 2.6% from 2.5%-3.0% seen earlier.
US dollar surges to new 34-year high vs yen after hotter-than-expected inflation data The 10-year government bond yield (interpolated) on the previous trading day was 2.66, +4.09 bps. The benchmark government bond yield (LB31DA) was 2.62, +5.00 bps. Meantime, the latest closed US 10-year bond yields was 4.55, +19.00 bps. USDTHB on the previous trading day closed around 36.33. Moving in a range of 36.675-36.77 this morning. USDTHB could be closed between 36.50-36.80 today. The dollar rose across the board on Wednesday, soaring against the Japanese yen to its highest since mid-1990, after US inflation rose more than expected in March, pushing out the expected timing of a first rate cut to September from June. Market participants were also on the alert for any signs of intervention from Japanese authorities to boost the yen. The big move in the yen came after data showed the US consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.4% monthly in March, compared with the 0.3% increase expected by economists polled by Reuters. On a year-on-year basis, the CPI increased 3.5% versus forecasts of a 3.4% growth. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, core inflation grew 0.4% month-on-month in March, compared with expectations of a 0.3% advance. Annually, it gained 3.8%, versus the estimated 3.7% increase.
Sources : ttb analytics , Bloomberg, CNBC, Trading economics, Investing, CEIC
