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TOKYO/SINGAPORE, July 5 (Reuters) - Oil benchmark Brent fell on Wednesday, reversing some of the gains made after Saudi Arabia and Russia announced they would extend and deepen output cuts into August, as concerns over a global economic slowdown weighed on market sentiment. Brent was down 46 cents, or 0.6%, at $75.79 a barrel by 0704 GMT, after climbing $1.60 on Tuesday. Investors remained concerned about oil demand, however, after business surveys showed a slump in global factory activity because of sluggish demand in China and in Europe. "The trajectory of global oil stockpiles may soon become as relevant as OPEC+ supply cuts and macro headwinds given the International Energy Agency's outlook for a tightening oil market in H2 2023," analysts from Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a note. Reporting by Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo and Muyu Xu in Singapore; Editing by Sonali Paul and Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Brent, Tomomichi Akuta, Yuka Obayashi, Xu, Sonali Paul, Muralikumar Organizations: . West Texas, Mitsubishi UFJ Research, Consulting, Federal, Market, U.S, of, Petroleum, Investors, Traders, American Petroleum Institute, Reuters, International Energy, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, SINGAPORE, Saudi Arabia, Russia, ., Monday's, U.S, United States, Europe, China, Algeria, OPEC, Tokyo, Singapore

☆ Oil prices ease as worries over global economic slowdown weigh
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oil prices eased on Wednesday, paring the previous day's gain as fears over a global economic slowdown denting fuel demand outweighed expectations of tighter supply due to output cuts announced by top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia for August. Brent crude was down 14 cents, or 0.2%, at $76.11 a barrel by 0027 GMT, after climbing $1.60 on Tuesday. "Oil prices came under pressure again due to lingering worries over a slowdown in the global economy and further hikes of interest rates in the United States and Europe," said Tomomichi Akuta, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting. The latest decision by Saudi and Russia could be viewed as a bearish signal for prices, as it confirms that optimistic views on demand growth are faltering. Investors remained concerned about oil demand, however, after business surveys showed a slump in global factory activity because of sluggish demand in China and in Europe.

Persons: paring, Brent, Tomomichi Akuta Organizations: Raffles, . West Texas, Mitsubishi UFJ Research, Consulting, Saudi, OPEC, of, Petroleum, Investors, Traders, American Petroleum Institute, Reuters Locations: Yantai, East China's Shandong province, Saudi Arabia, Russia, ., Monday's, U.S, United States, Europe, China, Algeria

☆ Japan's current account swings back to black on overseas investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The current account surplus stood at 2.1972 trillion yen ($16.59 billion) in February, smaller than a 2.5357 trillion yen surplus forecast by a Reuters poll of 16 economists. That followed the prior month's 1.9893 trillion yen deficit, which was caused by effects of the Chinese New Year holidays in January. The income surplus stood at 3.4407 trillion yen, more than enough to offset the trade deficit of 604.1 billion yen, the data showed. As a result, current account surplus will expand gradually from now on," he said. Japan's position as an export powerhouse has also waned in recent years, in part because companies have moved production overseas, making overseas investment a pillar of the country's earning power.

☆ Japan logs record merchandise trade deficit in Jan as export growth slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Jan merchandise exports +3.5% yr/yr vs forecast +0.8%Imports +17.8% yr/yr vs forecast +18.4%Trade deficit at record Y3.49 trln vs forecast Y3.87 trillionCommodity inflation peaking but trade deficit to linger -analystTOKYO, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Growth in Japan's merchandise exports slowed sharply in January amid weakening Chinese demand for cars and chipmaking machinery, stoking concern about a global slowdown and creating the country's largest trade deficit on record. Trade figures issued on Thursday followed weaker-than-expected gross domestic product data, underscoring the challenge for the Bank of Japan in achieving growth led by private demand while stably sustaining inflation above 2%. The result was a 3.49 trillion yen ($26.07 billion) deficit in merchandise trade in January, the biggest in records going back to 1979, the data showed. Data issued on Monday showed Japan's economy, the world's third largest, had grown at an annualised rate of only 0.6 in the fourth quarter as business investment slumped. Japan reports trade in services separately, in its current account data.

☆ Analysis: BOJ bullishness on wages suggests days of super-low rates are numbered
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Kuroda likely put YCC on life support so his successor can strategise an orderly exit, said former BOJ official Nobuyasu Atago. He said the bank could raise the 0.5% yield cap to as high as 1% around mid-year and ditch negative rates by year's end. The parent of casual clothing giant Uniqlo says it will raise wages as much as 40%. "If the BOJ ends negative rates, that would widen the spread between deposit and lending rates so would definitely be positive for us," he said. With YCC creaking under market pressure, the BOJ may not be able to wait too long.

☆ Japan current account surplus jumps, marks record for November
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary Nov current account surplus at 1.8 trillion yenPrimary income surplus at 3.7 trillion yenTOKYO, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Japan's current account surplus logged a surprising surge to mark a record for November, as weakness in the yen drove income gains from portfolio investment and direct investment overseas to their highest level for the month. November's data marked the first year-on-year growth in the current account surplus since March 2022. The primary income surplus, which includes interest payments and dividends from investments overseas, hit 3.7 trillion yen. It was the largest amount for the month since comparable data became available in 1985, with the previous record being 2.4 trillion yen in November 2021. The trade deficit was 1.5 trillion yen, narrowing from the previous month's 1.9 trillion yen.

For October-December, (Japan's) production will likely be almost flat or slightly decrease from the previous quarter," said Shumpei Fujita, economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting, pointing to the global economic slowdown as a culprit. Factory output fell 2.6% in October from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis, government data showed on Wednesday. Production machinery output slipped 5.4%, taking a hit from soft demand for equipment to make semiconductors and flat-panel displays. While output of compact cars for the domestic market grew, production and shipment of export-oriented larger vehicles was down due to chip shortages, the METI official said. The impact of China's recent lockdown remains unclear, the METI official said, adding the spill-over effects for Japanese manufacturers may only appear in November or December statistics.

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