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☆ BOJ debated groundwork for future easy-policy exit at Oct meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Staff members of Bank of Japan walk between the BOJ headquarters buildings in Tokyo, Japan September 20, 2023. The discussions highlight how the BOJ is looking to exit its decade-long accommodative regime, as prospects of sustained inflation and wage growth heighten. At the Oct. 30-31 meeting, the BOJ kept its ultra-low interest rate targets unchanged but tweaked the yield curve control (YCC) to loosen its grip on long-term interest rates. Another opinion showed how one board member saw prospects of sustainably achieving the BOJ's price target having heightened further since the previous meeting in July. The summary does not disclose the identity of the board member who made the comments.

Persons: Issei Kato, Kazuo Ueda, Leika, Shri Navaratnam, Sam Holmes Organizations: Bank of Japan, REUTERS, Bank, Japan, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, TOKYO

☆ China tells Britain to stop efforts to 'enhance' ties with Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Nov 9 (Reuters) - The Chinese government on Thursday told Britain to stop its efforts to "enhance" ties with Taiwan after a high level meeting in London and the signing of a new trade agreement between the island and Britain. "We urge the UK to abide by the one-China principle and stop using trade cooperation as an excuse to engage in official exchanges or enhance substantive relations with Taiwan," it added. Britain and Taiwan both maintain de facto embassies in each other's capitals, but London does not officially recognise the democratically elected government in Taipei. Britain approved a sharp increase in exports of submarine parts and technology last year to Taiwan as it upgrades its naval forces, Reuters reported in March. Because of its diplomatic isolation and pressure from China, chip powerhouse Taiwan has few formal foreign trade agreements, though it is a member of the World Trade Organization and has free trade agreements with Singapore and New Zealand.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Nigel Huddleston, Chen Chern, Ben Blanchard, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Wednesday, Trade Partnership, British Trade, World Health Organization, Reuters, World Trade Organization, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Rights BEIJING, Britain, Taiwan, London, China's, Beijing, China, Taipei, Singapore, New Zealand

☆ Chaos as Optus outage disconnects half of Australia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Because of the outage it won't load," Rogers told Reuters while he was waiting at the pharmacist for the internet to return. Optus, which is owned by Singapore Telecommunications, (STEL.SI) gave no explanation for the outage except to say it was investigating it. Until then, even taking a walk became more difficult, at least for people who needed directions. An office worker from Sydney told Reuters he could not get into his building because the door required an internet-connected smartphone application to unlock. ($1 = 1.5538 Australian dollars)Reporting by Byron Kaye with additional reporting by Kirsty Needham and Sam Holmes; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Chris Rogers, Rogers, I've, Michael Clements, Angela Ican, we've, Roderick Geddes, Byron Kaye, Kirsty Needham, Sam Holmes, Stephen Coates Organizations: SYDNEY, Optus, Reuters, Reserve Bank of Australia, Royal Australian College of General, Singapore Telecommunications, Sydney, Thomson Locations: Sydney

☆ China expected to achieve 2023 GDP growth target -c.bank governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

People's Bank of China (PBOC) Vice Governor Pan Gongsheng speaks at a news conference in Beijing, China March 3, 2023. FollowBEIJING, Nov 8 (Reuters) - China is expected to achieve its annual gross domestic product growth target of 5% this year and will maintain prudent monetary policy to revive real economic growth, the central bank governor was quoted saying by state media on Wednesday. Beijing has set an economic growth target of around 5% for this year. China is scrambling to revive growth after a brief post-COVID-19 bounce faltered amid a protracted property market slump and local government debt risks. Economic indicators released on Tuesday showed imports unexpectedly swung to growth in October while exports contracted at a quicker pace.

Persons: Pan Gongsheng, Florence, Pan, Liangping Gao, Ellen Zhang, Ryan Woo, Tom Hogue, Sam Holmes Organizations: People's Bank of China, REUTERS, Rights Companies Shenzhen Securities Times Co, Securities Times, Thomson Locations: People's, Beijing, China, BEIJING, Pan

☆ BOJ Ueda signals chance of exit from easy policy before real wages rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda attends a news conference after their policy meeting at BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan April 28, 2023. "Real wages would likely have turned positive when a positive wage-inflation cycle kicks off," Ueda said. "But in terms of how long we maintain our massive monetary easing ... real wages don't necessarily have to turn positive before that decision is made," he said. "The decision (of ending ultra-loose policy) could be made if we can foresee with some certainty that real wages will turn positive ahead," Ueda told parliament. Ueda said the pass-through of rising import prices must dissipate and that wages and inflation needed to rise in tandem for the BOJ to consider exiting ultra-easy policy.

Persons: Kazuo Ueda, Issei Kato, BOJ Ueda, Ueda, YCC, Leika Kihara, Lincoln, Sam Holmes Organizations: of Japan, REUTERS, Bank of Japan, ., Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, TOKYO

Tuesday data showing a larger-than-expected fall in German industrial production in September contributed to the euro's weakness, said Fiona Cincotta, senior financial market analyst at City Index. The euro, like most other currencies, gained sharply on the dollar last week as a series of data points - most notably U.S. data from Friday showing job growth slowed in October - sent the U.S. unit lower. The dollar fell 1.4% last week, its steepest decline since mid-July, a sharp reversal after a recent run higher. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said on Monday the U.S. central bank likely has more work ahead to control inflation. The yen softened to 151.74 per dollar last week, edging closer to October 2022 lows that spurred several rounds of dollar-selling intervention.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Fiona Cincotta, Chester Ntonifor, Neel Kashkari, Jerome Powell, Carol Kong, Kong, Ankur Banerjee, Alun John, Sam Holmes, Miral Fahmy, Edmund Klamann, Kim Coghill, Emelia Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, PMI, Federal, Treasury, BCA Research, Fed, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, U.S, Bank, Australian, Commonwealth Bank of, Aussie, Thomson Locations: Rights SINGAPORE, LONDON, U.S, Australia, Tokyo, Singapore, London

☆ China's imports unexpectedly grow in Oct, exports extend declines
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Exports shrank 6.4% from a year earlier in October, customs data showed on Tuesday, faster than a 6.2% decline in September and worse than a 3.3% fall expected in a Reuters poll. The bad exports data may hit market confidence as we had expected the supply chain of exports to recover," said Zhou Hao, economist at Guotai Junan International. "The significant improvement in imports may come from rising domestic demand, in particular a demand to replenish stocks." However, in a sign trade is finding some footing, South Korean exports to China fell at their slowest pace in 13 months in October. China's manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in October, data showed last week, complicating policymakers' efforts to revive growth.

Persons: Zhou Hao, Joe Cash, Ellen Zhang, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Imports, Guotai, Analysts, Thomson Locations: Qingdao, Shandong province, China, Rights BEIJING, North American, Korean

☆ Dollar steady as risk rally eases, RBA in focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. one dollar banknotes are seen in front of displayed stock graph in this illustration taken, February 8, 2021. The Australian dollar was 0.23% lower at $0.6474, but remained close to the three-month peak of $0.6523 touched on Monday. "I think the RBA will probably reiterate its tightening bias," said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. "But I think it's still too early to say the latest easing in the dollar will be sustained. The yen hit 151.74 per dollar last week, edging closer to October 2022 lows that spurred several rounds of dollar-selling intervention.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Carol Kong, Neel Kashkari, Jerome Powell, Powell, CBA's, Sterling, Kazuo Ueda, Ankur Banerjee, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reserve Bank of Australia, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, New Zealand, Fed, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, U.S, Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: Rights SINGAPORE, Tokyo, Singapore

☆ Chaos as Optus Outage Disconnects Half of Australia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

"Because of the outage it won't load," Rogers told Reuters while he was waiting at the pharmacist for the internet to return. Optus, which is owned by Singapore Telecommunications, gave no explanation for the outage except to say it was investigating it. Until then, even taking a walk became more difficult, at least for people who needed directions. An office worker from Sydney told Reuters he could not get into his building because the door required an internet-connected smartphone application to unlock. ($1 = 1.5538 Australian dollars)(Reporting by Byron Kaye with additional reporting by Kirsty Needham and Sam Holmes; Editing by Stephen Coates)

Persons: Byron Kaye SYDNEY, Chris Rogers, Rogers, I've, Michael Clements, Angela Ican, we've, Roderick Geddes, Byron Kaye, Kirsty Needham, Sam Holmes, Stephen Coates Organizations: Optus, Reuters, Reserve Bank of Australia, Royal Australian College of General, Singapore Telecommunications, Sydney Locations: Sydney

☆ Morning Bid: Rate cut prospects fuel stock rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Nov 6 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Wayne Cole. It's been an upbeat start to the week in Asia as markets cast aside concerns about rate hikes, and go straight to pricing in early cuts. Futures imply an 80% probability the ECB will begin easing as soon as April, and the first BoE rate cut is almost fully priced for August. An outlier here is the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) which might well resume hiking on Tuesday after four months of steady policy outcomes. But expectations were already so low that it's the dollar that has all the downside in the disappointment stakes.

Persons: Wayne Cole, It's, BoE, Ueda, Jerome Powell, Christine Lagarde, Huw Pill, Lisa Cook, Sam Holmes Organizations: Federal, ECB, Bank of Japan, Reserve Bank of Australia, Atlanta, EU, Bank of England, Federal Reserve, Thomson Locations: Wayne, Asia, South Korea, Europe

☆ Asia shares extend rally on hopes of early rate cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"This year's better-than-expected U.S. supply-side performance raises hopes for a soft landing," said Bruce Kasman, head of economic research at JPMorgan. Futures markets swung to imply a 90% chance the Fed was done hiking, and an 86% chance the first policy easing would come as soon as June. Markets also imply around an 80% probability the European Central Bank will be cutting rates by April, while the Bank of England is seen easing in August. An odd man out is Australia's central bank, which is considered likely to resume hiking rates at a policy meeting on Tuesday as inflation stays stubbornly high. "We look for the Fed Funds rate to fall to 3-3.25%, the ECB depo rate to 3% and BoE Bank Rate to 4.25% by end-2024."

Persons: Issei Kato, Bruce Kasman, disinflation, Jerome Powell, BoE, Brent, Wayne Cole, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Nikkei, SYDNEY, Federal Reserve, JPMorgan, Futures, European Central Bank, Bank of, ECB, The Bank of Japan, South, Nasdaq, Fed, NatWest Markets, Sunday, Palestinian, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, United States, Europe, U.S, Bank of England, Asia, Pacific, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Russia, East, Israel, Gaza

☆ Japan service activity posts slowest growth this year - PMI
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Japan's services activity expanded at the slowest pace this year in October, a business survey showed on Monday, reinforcing concerns that the key sector propelling economic growth is continuing to soften. The final au Jibun Bank Service purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 51.6 in October from 53.8 in September, beset by weak demand. "While the PMI data continue to make positive reading for the Japanese service sector, the recent trends suggest that growth is on the wane," said Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global. Employment returned to growth, but retirements offset the overall pace of job creation, the survey found. The worsening conflict in the Middle East and slower growth in China cloud the outlook for Japan, among the largest economies in the world.

Persons: Andrew Harker, Satoshi Sugiyama, Sam Holmes Organizations: Jibun Bank Service, P Global Intelligence, PMI, P, Employment, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, China, Japan

☆ Bank of Japan members saw no need for new yield control tweaks, September minutes show
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Japanese national flag is hoisted atop the headquarters of Bank of Japan in Tokyo, Japan September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Most Bank of Japan board members saw no need for additional tweaks to yield curve control and agreed to continued monetary easing to meet inflation and wage growth objectives, minutes of its September meeting showed on Monday. Board members shared the view that long term interest rates were moving in line with its market operation policy following the central bank's decision in July to make yield control more flexible, the minutes from the September meeting said. At the September meeting, the BOJ turned positive about its view on price growth, although central bank board members remained cautious about policy tweaks, Muguruma added. Several members said abolishing a negative rate and yield control policy would have to be discussed together with any successful achievement of the BOJ's 2% inflation target.

Persons: Issei Kato, Naomi Muguruma, Mitsubishi UFJ, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley, Tetsushi Kajimoto, Tom Hogue, Sam Holmes Organizations: Bank of Japan, REUTERS, Rights, Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan

☆ Kakao faces growing regulatory risks as political scrutiny rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Joyce Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Kakao messaging application and the Kakao T taxi booking application are seen on a mobile phone in this illustration photo March 13, 2018. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol told a public meeting on Wednesday that the market behaviour of Kakao Mobility's taxi-hailing service was monopolistic and required a review. Its regulatory troubles escalated last month when one of its executives was arrested for suspected stock market manipulation during its acquisition of K-Pop agency SM Entertainment (041510.KQ). Last week, regulator Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said it will refer Kakao, its affiliate Kakao Entertainment and executives involved in the SM Entertainment acquisition to public prosecutors for suspected violation of the Capital Markets Act. "It is necessary to pay attention to legal risks, as problems may arise in the status of KakaoBank depending on the probes' results."

Persons: Thomas White, Yoon Suk Yeol, Kakao, Oh Dong, hwan, Joyce Lee, Miyoung Kim, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Kakao Corp, Naver Corp, Reuters, Mobility, SM Entertainment, Financial Supervisory Service, Kakao Entertainment, Pension Service, NPS, Samsung Securities, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, Korean, Kakao

☆ Morning Bid: Markets cheer as Powell finds his balance
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell answers a question at a press conference following a closed two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy at the Federal Reserve in Washington, U.S., November 1, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Acquire Licensing RightsNov 2 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Wayne Cole. It's been a day for relief rallies in Asia as investors became increasingly confident the next move in U.S. interest rates will be down, not up. While Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell maintained the option of another hike, he sounded less than committed to the idea. The dovish mood proved infectious as investors pared back rate risks across much of the developed world.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Kevin Lamarque, Wayne Cole, It's, presser, Powell, EURIBOR, Edouard Fernandez, Isabel Schnabel, Philip Lane, Sam Holmes Organizations: Federal, Committee, Federal Reserve, REUTERS, Treasury, The Bank of, U.S, Bank of England, Norges Bank, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Wayne, Asia, The Bank of England, China

☆ Asia's factories squeezed as China's nascent recovery teeters
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Purchasing managers' indexes (PMIs) for factory powerhouses China, Japan and South Korea showed activity shrinking while Vietnam and Malaysia also struggled with the broadening fallout from a Chinese slowdown. "Overall, manufacturers were not in high spirits in October," said Wang Zhe, an economist at Caixin Insight Group, on China's survey outcome. Japan's factory activity shrank for a fifth straight month in October, the final au Jibun Bank PMI showed. South Korea's factory activity fell for the 16th straight month while PMIs from Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia also showed continued declines in activity. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that China's weak recovery and the risk of a more protracted property crisis could further dent Asia's economic prospects.

Persons: Stringer, Wang Zhe, Leika Kihara, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, PMI, P Global, Caixin Insight, Jibun, Murata Manufacturing, Monetary Fund, IMF, Thomson Locations: Zouping, Shandong province, China, Japan, South Korea, TOKYO, Vietnam, Malaysia, PMIs, Taiwan, Asia

☆ Morning Bid: Yen hangs under intervention cloud
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Banknotes of Japanese yen are seen in this illustration picture taken September 23, 2022. As Europe wakes up, the yen is not far off the one-year low of 151.74 hit this week and the three-decade low of 151.94 touched last year, which triggered an intervention by Tokyo at the time. The broad yen sell-off on Tuesday came a day after the BOJ watered down its 1% yield cap on the 10-year bond. How hard the BOJ defends the so-called 1% reference will be the key question traders ask in coming days. With little on Europe's economic calendar, investors are likely to keep the focus on the Fed and yen.

Persons: Florence Lo, Ankur Banerjee, Masato Kanda, ramping, Jerome Powell, Powell, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Ankur, Fed, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, PMI, Nationwide, GSK, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, United States

☆ China factory activity unexpectedly shrinks in Oct, dents recovery momentum
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

China Daily via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Oct 31 (Reuters) - China's manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in October, an official factory survey showed on Tuesday, underlining the challenge facing policymakers trying to engineer a durable economic recovery. Recent indicators pointed to encouraging signs of stabilising in the world's second-largest economy, supported by a flurry of policy support measures, although a protracted property crisis and soft global demand remain major headwinds. "Although there are signs of exports bottoming out, a strong recovery in external demand is probably elusive," he added. But analysts say more policy support may be needed to ensure the economy reaches Beijing's annual growth target of about 5%. "The additional 1 trillion yuan will help in November and December," Economist Intelligence Unit's Xu said.

Persons: Xu Tianchen, Dan Wang, Nomura, Unit's Xu, Joe Cash, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, National Bureau, Statistics, PMI, Economist Intelligence Unit, Hang Seng Bank China, JPMorgan, Moody's, Thomson Locations: Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, Rights BEIJING

☆ Japan on standby to deal with 'one-sided' yen moves - top FX diplomat
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Takaya Yamaguchi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Issei Kato Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Japan's top currency diplomat Masato Kanda said on Wednesday authorities were on standby to respond to recent "one-sided, sharp" moves in the yen, escalating his warning to investors against pushing down the currency too much. "Speculative trading seems to be the biggest factor behind recent currency moves," Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs, told reporters on the yen's declines. The situation surrounding yen moves has become "more tense" than before, he said, adding that authorities will "respond appropriately without ruling out any options". After sliding to 151.715 against the dollar overnight on Tuesday, the yen stood at 151.350 in Asia on Wednesday. It intervened again in October 2022 after the yen plunged to a 32-year low of 151.94.

Persons: Masato Kanda, Issei Kato, Kanda, Takaya Yamaguchi, Satoshi Sugiyama, Leika Kihara, Sam Holmes Organizations: Reuters, Finance Ministry, REUTERS, Rights, Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Asia

☆ BOJ likely to lift inflation forecasts, debate tweak to yield cap
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The BOJ sets a target of around 0% for the 10-year yield under YCC. Since then, rising global bond yields and persistent inflation have put the BOJ in a tight spot with the 10-year JGB yield threatening to breach the 1% cap. The 10-year bond yield rose to a fresh decade high of 0.955% on Tuesday. Sources told Reuters last week the BOJ could debate further tweaks to YCC at the Oct. 30-31 meeting to relax its grip on the 10-year yield. The BOJ is widely expected to maintain the 0% target for the 10-year yield and that for short-term rates at -0.1%.

Persons: BOJ, Ueda, Ataru Okumura, Kazuo Ueda, Leika Kihara, Sam Holmes Organizations: Bank of, Nikkei, Nikko Securities, Reuters, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Bank of Japan, Japan

☆ Asian shares track US futures higher, bonds hold gains
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Overnight, the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged as expected, sending the euro briefly to a two-week low. S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% while Nasdaq futures rallied 0.7%, driven by a 5% jump in Amazon shares in after-hours trading. In a statement after the U.S. close, the tech giant predicted higher holiday season sales and a stabilisation in its cloud business. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) bounced 0.6% on Friday after hitting a fresh 11-month low a day ago. Brent crude futures climbed 0.5% to $88.38 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate was at $83.58 a barrel, up 0.4%.

Persons: Aly, Hong, HSI, Nathaniel Casey, Evelyn, Goldman Sachs, Stella Qiu, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Nasdaq, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, Tokyo's Nikkei, Evelyn Partners, 1bp, CME, Brent, West Texas, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, SYDNEY, U.S, Asia, Pacific, Japan, East, Israel, Gaza

SINGAPORE, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose by over $1 on Friday as reports that the U.S military struck Iranian targets in Syria raised concerns of a widening of the Israel-Hamas conflict that could impact supply from the key Middle East producing region. Though the strike did not directly impact supply, it increases fears that the conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israel, backed by the U.S., and Hamas may spread and disrupt supply from major crude producer Iran, which backs Hamas. A wider war could also impact shipments from Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, and other large producers in the Gulf. Both Brent and WTI are on track to post their first weekly drop in three weeks as the geopolitical premium built on these fears has ebbed as there has been no disruption of oil supply outside of the immediate region of the fighting. Israeli forces carried out their biggest Gaza ground attack in their 20-day-old war with Hamas overnight, angering the Arab world.

Persons: Brent, WTI, Kelvin Yew, Benjamin Netanyahu, Helima Croft, Goldman Sachs, Florence Tan, Sam Holmes, Christian Organizations: U.S, Brent, U.S . West Texas Intermediate, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Pentagon, Ocean, Investments, RBC Capital, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Syria, Israel, U.S, Iraq, Gaza, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United States, Hormuz, Russia

☆ Morning Bid: ECB on hold, five's alive in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A view shows the European Central Bank (ECB) flag and the flag of the European Union in front of the ECB Building in Frankfurt, Germany, September 14, 2023. All 85 economists polled by Reuters last week expected the European Central Bank to stay on hold. Israel bombarded Hamas targets as it prepared for a ground invasion, with Russia warning the conflict could spread beyond the Middle East. Russia said it successfully tested its ability to deliver a massive retaliatory nuclear strike by land, sea and air. Reuters GraphicsKey developments that could influence markets on Thursday:Economics: European Central Bank meeting, U.S. GDPEarnings: Unilever, Mercedes, Standard Chartered and, after market close, AmazonReporting by Tom Westbrook.

Persons: Wolfgang Rattay, Tom Westbrook, Mike Johnson, Trump, Ted Pick, James Gorman, Morgan Stanley, Pick, Israel, Sam Holmes Organizations: European Central Bank, European Union, REUTERS, Reuters, Unilever, Mercedes, Treasury, Nasdaq, Republican, United Auto Workers, Ford, Standard Chartered, Amazon, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Asia, U.S, Louisiana, Ukraine, Russia, East

The data reinforces expectations the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will revise up its inflation forecasts when it produces fresh quarterly projections at next week's policy meeting. The Tokyo core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food but includes fuel costs, rose 2.7% in October from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, exceeding market forecasts for a 2.5% gain. The so-called "core core" index that strips away both fresh food and fuel prices - closely watched by the BOJ as a gauge of broader price trends - rose 3.8% in October from a year earlier after a 3.9% increase in September, the data showed. "With services inflation continuing to accelerate, it will take a long time before inflation falls back below the BOJ's 2% target." The BOJ remains a global dovish outlier, having maintained ultra-loose policy even as major central banks elsewhere raised interest rates aggressively to fight rampant inflation.

Persons: Androniki, Marcel Thieliant, Takahiko Wada, Shri Navaratnam, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of Japan, Reuters Graphics, Capital Economics, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, TOKYO, Asia

☆ Japan finmin says he is watching yen moves with 'sense of urgency'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki arrives for a news conference during the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, following last month's deadly earthquake, in Marrakech, Morocco, October 13, 2023. REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Japanese finance minister Shunichi Suzuki maintained a warning to investors against selling the yen on Thursday, saying authorities were closely watching moves after the currency fell beyond 150 yen against the dollar. "I'm watching market moves with a sense of urgency, as before," Suzuki told reporters at his ministry, when asked about renewed weakness in the yen. The dollar rose to 150.32 yen, its highest since October last year when Japan last intervened in the market to support the local currency. Pressure is mounting on the Bank of Japan to change its bond yield control as global interest rates rise.

Persons: Shunichi Suzuki, Susana Vera, Suzuki, Tetsushi Kajimoto, Jamie Freed, Sam Holmes Organizations: International Monetary Fund, World Bank, REUTERS, Rights, greenback, Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: Marrakech, Morocco, Japan

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