MADRID (Reuters) – The euro zone economy has experienced a strong recovery in the third quarter even though the most recent incoming data in August have been less robust, European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos said on Tuesday. “In the third quart... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – German manufacturers’ recovery from lockdown measures continued last month, with output growing at the fastest pace since February 2018, a survey showed on Tuesday. IHS Markit’s final Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for manufacturing, which... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Whoever succeeds Shinzo Abe as Japan’s prime minister will be confronted with growing signs that the job market is deteriorating in an economy laid low by the coronavirus pandemic. Top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga is emerging as a fron... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan was hit by its biggest economic slump on record in the second quarter as the coronavirus pandemic emptied shopping malls and crushed demand for cars and other exports, bolstering the case for bolder policy action to prevent a deeper rec... More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s economy saw its biggest annual contraction in 22 years and a record quarterly fall in the April-June period, as the coronavirus pandemic and restriction measures hit tourism, exports and domestic activity, prompting an outlook do... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Investor morale in the euro zone rose for a fourth consecutive month in August but the low reading suggests that the coronavirus-hit economy is still in recession in the third quarter, a survey showed on Monday. Sentix’s index for the euro z... More »
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation fell to 4.2% in July from 5.6% in June, the central statistics agency CAPMAS said on Monday. Month on month inflation increased to 0.4% in July from 0.1% in June mainly on the back of an increase ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s factory deflation eased in July, driven by a rise in global oil prices and as industrial activity climbed back towards pre-coronavirus levels, adding to signs of recovery in the world’s second-largest economy. The producer price ind... More »
LONDON/TOKYO (Reuters) – Euro zone manufacturing activity expanded modestly last month, its first growth since early 2019, and Asia’s pain eased as the contraction slowed in export-reliant nations, adding to hopes the sector is emerging from the hit of the cor... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish factory activity expanded in July, rebounding from its worst slowdown in almost 12 years as the economy revived after the government ended one of Europe’s strictest coronavirus lockdowns a month earlier, a survey showed on Monday. In... More »
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s economy likely posted the biggest contraction in more than two decades in the second quarter, as measures taken to combat the coronavirus pandemic hit most sectors, a Reuters poll showed on Monday. The median forecast of 20 anal... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Profits at China’s industrial firms rose for a second straight month and at the fastest pace in over a year, adding to signs the country’s economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis is gaining momentum. The statistics bureau said on Mond... More »
GDANSK/WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s industrial output PLIPY=ECI rose by 0.5% in June, better than the 6.9% decline forecast by analysts, who said the statistic office data suggest the economy may overcome the coronavirus crisis faster than initially expected. T... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone industrial production rose in May, official estimates showed on Tuesday, but the recovery from lockdown-induced record declines March and April was lower than expected and far from offsetting past drops. Manufacturing output in t... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The German economy is rebounding from a pandemic-induced slump after hitting bottom last month, a real-time indicator developed by the country’s central bank showed on Monday. Launched in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, the Bundesbank’s... More »
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s retail inflation picked up in June, pushed by price increases for some food and fuel items, but economists said the central bank could still ease rates because of concerns about economic slowdown caused by lockdown. Annual retail ... More »
TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisia has asked four countries to delay debt repayments, it said on Monday as it announced more pessimistic economic and budget forecasts for 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. It is negotiating with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France and I... More »
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Producer prices in Canada gained 0.4% in June from May, primarily on higher prices for energy and petroleum products, Statistics Canada said on Friday in a preliminary flash estimate. Energy and petroleum prices jumped 11.7%, the agency said... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The euro zone economy will drop deeper into recession this year and rebound less steeply in 2021 than previously thought, the European Commission forecast on Tuesday, with France, Italy and Spain struggling the most due to the COVID-19 pan... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British new car registrations fell by an annual 35% in June, the smallest drop since February, as many dealerships reopened after coronavirus lockdown measures were lifted. A total of 145,377 new cars were registered in June, leaving year-to... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Orders for German industrial goods rose by 10.4% in May, rebounding from their biggest drop since records began in 1991 the previous month, data showed on Monday, as demand picked up after lockdown measures to fight the coronavirus were lift... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Around one fifth of German companies (21%) believe their survival is threatened by the coronavirus crisis, Germany’s Ifo institute said on Monday, with travel agents, hotels and restaurants particularly concerned. “We could see a wave of ins... More »
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The risk of a deeper economic euro zone recession than predicted in the European Central Bank’s (ECB) baseline scenario has diminished, ECB governing council member Klaas Knot said on Friday. “Recent data solidifies the confidence in our ... More »
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s real GDP is likely to grow 3% in May, bouncing back from a record decline in April, Statistics Canada said in a flash estimate on Friday, as businesses across the country began to reopen following coronavirus-linked shutdowns. Growt... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s central bank governor said it was encouraging commercial banks to lend more to sustain businesses during the coronavirus crisis. Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) Governor Ahmed al-Kholifey was speaking at a virtual econo... More »
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s retail sales in May slumped 32.8% from a year earlier, falling for the 16th consecutive month as the virus pandemic slammed the brakes on tourism and spending in the city. Months of anti-government protest have also weighed on... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British industrial output recorded its biggest quarterly fall on record during the three months to June as COVID-19 heavily disrupted operations, and a further decline is likely in the months to come, a survey showed on Monday. The Confedera... More »
(Reuters) – No denying May’s $73 billion rebound in U.S. retail sales was an eye-popper and is the latest fodder to fuel the red-hot “V” vs “U” debate about what kind of recovery to expect from the COVID-19 recession. Even Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British businesses have borrowed nearly 35 billion pounds ($44 billion) under three emergency credit programmes for companies hit by the coronavirus crisis with demand strongest for a 100% state-backed scheme for the smallest firms. After a ... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A plunge in household spending and investment pulled down euro zone gross domestic product in the first quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic struck, but the fall was slightly smaller than first estimated, the European Union’s statistics office... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The European Central Bank beefed up its bond-buying programme on Thursday in its latest effort to support a euro zone economy pummelled by more than two months of shutdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic. HIGHLIGHTS: ** ECB increases size o... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Euro zone manufacturers appear to have passed their nadir, a survey showed on Monday, but activity is still contracting sharply as government-imposed lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic keep demand in check. Many countries in the bloc ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The United Kingdom’s COVID-19 official death toll has reached nearly 43,000, underlining the country’s status as the worst-hit in Europe and raising more questions about Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s handling of the crisis. New official fig... More »
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China is expected to stand pat on its benchmark lending rate on Wednesday, after the central bank kept medium-term funding cost for financial institutions steady last week, a Reuters survey of traders and analysts found. Thirty-four respon... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s economy shrank by a record 5.8% in March as the coronavirus crisis escalated and the government shut down much of the country, according to official data that point towards an even bigger hit to come. The monthly drop in gross dome... More »
BERLIN/MUNICH (Reuters) – The business climate in Germany’s auto sector suffered its biggest slump in April and hit its lowest level since 1991, when the Ifo economic institute began collecting data post-reunification, a survey showed on Monday. The news came ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New orders for U.S.-made goods suffered a record decline in March and could sink further as disruptions from the novel coronavirus fracture supply chains and depress exports. The report from the Commerce Department on Monday was the late... More »
TAIPEI (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury’s latest semi-annual report on trade practices of its major trading partners which was due this month has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, two sources with direct knowledge at Taiwan’s central bank told Reuters... More »
BENGALURU (Reuters) – The euro zone economy is already in its deepest recession on record, according to a Reuters poll of economists, who have stuck to a bleak outlook and worry the downturn might be even worse as coronavirus lockdowns across the bloc take the... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The number of people in jobs in Britain grew more slowly in March than in February, official figures showed on Tuesday in an early sign of the impact of the coronavirus shutdown which is expected to hammer the jobs market. Growth in the numb... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia will suffer its biggest economic contraction since the 1930s in the first half of this year due to containment measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, its central bank governor said on Tuesday. Describing the contraction as... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean exports plunged nearly 27% in the first 20 days of April as the coronavirus health crisis paralyzed global manufacturing activity and crushed consumer demand. The worst may be yet to come with many of the country’s top trading pa... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan may see new hirings slow and job losses increase, particularly among service-sector firms struggling to cope with the intensifying pain of the coronavirus crisis, according to an analysis of survey data by a private think-tank. Dai-ichi... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s construction sector saw the sharpest fall in activity since the financial crisis last month, a survey showed on Monday, despite facing much less pressure than other industries to shut down operations due to the coronavirus. The fig... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Investor morale in the euro zone fell to an all-time low in April and the bloc’s economy is in deep recession due to the coronavirus, which is “holding the world economy in a stranglehold”, a survey showed on Monday. Sentix’s index for the e... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. services sector activity slowed to a more than 3-1/2-year low in March, with industries reporting a moderation in new orders and decline in employment amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has brought the country to sudden stop. The ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain has ordered more than 10,000 ventilators from a consortium of leading aerospace, engineering and Formula One racing teams which have met an urgent government plea for help with production due to start this week. The group, including ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain has asked 65,000 former nurses and doctors to return to work and will deploy final-year medical students to fight the coronavirus health crisis, the health ministry said. As the coronavirus outbreak sweeps across the world, governmen... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank slashed its forecast for Germany’s economy on the coronavirus fallout, saying it now expected the euro zone’s largest economy to contract between 4-5% in 2020 while industrial production could shrink by 10%. “Within days lockdo... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will ask manufacturers to retool production to start making specialist health equipment including ventilators and will look at using hotels as emergency hospitals to cope with the coronavirus outbreak. Br... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – The German economy ministry said it no longer expected an economic upswing in the first quarter because of the impact of the coronavirus on growth, with the economy unlikely to stabilize before the third quarter at the earliest. The economy ... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Kuwait’s Health Ministry announced 10 new cases of coronavirus in the country on Monday bringing the total number to 56, a ministry official said. The official, who was speaking during a news conference broadcast on state television, urged ci... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Growth of global trade in goods is likely to remain weak in early 2020, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Monday, adding that the below-trend performance could be reduced even further by the new coronavirus. The WTO said that, bas... More »
OSLO (Reuters) – Norwegian headline inflation rate is forecast to ease in 2020 to 1.5 percent for the year from 2.2% in 2019, a publicly appointed commission said on Monday. With members from labor unions, employers’ federations and Statistics Norway, the comm... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – A gauge of how Britons feel about their household finances hit its highest level on record this month, the latest sign of a confidence bounce since Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decisive election win in December. The IHS Markit Household Fi... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone economic growth slowed as expected in the last three months of 2019 as gross domestic product shrank in France and Italy against the previous quarter, but employment growth picked up more than expected, official estimates showed ... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – Franco-British biotech company Novacyt says it can offer a coronavirus test that is faster than rival methods by focusing on a narrow sequence of DNA coding, as it fights stiff competition to turn the outbreak into a business opportunity. In ... More »
OSLO (Reuters) – Norway’s consumer prices rose sharply in January from a year earlier, official data showed on Monday, strengthening the crown currency ahead of a major policy speech by the central bank governor on Thursday. Core inflation, a key measure for m... More »
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey has reduced the range and the levels of fees and commissions that banks can charge clients, according to central bank and banking watchdog regulations announced on Monday. The measures will cut the various charges banks can charge f... More »
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s economic growth in the fourth quarter is expected to have slowed to its weakest since mid-2016 on weaker private consumption and external demand, a Reuters poll showed. The median forecast from the poll of 13 economists was ... More »
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey’s consumer price inflation rose a bit more than expected to 12.15% year-on-year in January, official data showed on Monday, climbing for the third consecutive month after a dramatic drop last year. A currency crisis in 2018 sent inf... More »
DUBLIN (Reuters) – Nine years after a devastating crash in property prices catapulted the party of Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar to power, a housing market recovery too rapid for many threatens to dump it into opposition at this week’s general election. Th... More »
ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss National Bank appeared to remain on the sidelines as the Swiss franc surged to its highest level in nearly three years on Monday, driven by concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. The franc fell to 1.069 versus the euro EURCH... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund estimates that Kuwait’s financing needs will amount to some $180 billion over the next six years given the Gulf state’s “modest” fiscal measures and expectations of lower oil prices. Kuwait said earlier this mo... More »
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Automakers in China need to get used to a new normal of “low speed growth” in the world’s largest car market, the country’s top auto body said on Monday, as it reiterated predictions that sales will likely shrink for the third cons... More »
(Reuters Health) – People with no more than a high school education may be less likely to die by suicide when minimum wages rise, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers examined the difference between state and federal minimum hourly wages as well as state unemplo... More »
(Reuters Health) – As a method for reducing health costs and improving care for people with complex medical problems, an early effort at “hotspotting” patients to get extra attention has turned out to be not so hot. Researchers looked at so-called “superutiliz... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will lower tariffs on products ranging from frozen pork and avocado to some types of semiconductors next year as Beijing looks to boost imports amid a slowing economy and a trade war with the United States. Next year, China will imple... More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s customs-cleared exports in November fell 7.39% from a year earlier, after falling 4.54% the previous month, the commerce ministry said on Monday. November’s export numbers came in worse than a Reuters poll forecast for a decrease... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s industrial output is expected to grow around 5.6% in 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Monday. Industrial production rose 6.2% year-on-year in November, quickening from 4.7% in October. It was also th... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Growth in China’s industrial and retail sectors beat expectations in November, as government support propped up demand in the world’s second-largest economy and amid easing trade hostilities with Washington. The set of upbeat figures releas... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s new home prices grew at their weakest pace in nearly two years in November while property investment also eased, with tightening policies continuing to cool the market even as some local easing is expected to prevent a sharp slowdow... More »
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Nairobi’s governor pleaded not guilty to corruption and other economic crimes involving millions of dollars in a Kenyan court on Monday. Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko was arrested on Friday and is accused of conspiracy to commit corruption, fai... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s exports rose unexpectedly in October, a morale boost for Europe’s largest economy, which has been teetering on the brink of recession over recent quarters. The 1.2% rise in exports raises hopes that the economy can avoid contractin... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Monday after data showed that Chinese exports declined for a fourth straight month, sending shivers through a market already concerned about damage being done to global demand by the Sino-U.S. trade war. Brent futures LCOc1... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s service sector sentiment improved slightly in November, recovering from a multi-year low hit in the previous month when a sales tax hike and a huge typhoon hit business morale. The survey of workers such as taxi drivers, hotel workers... More »
(This Dec. 5 story corrects first paragraph to say growth was slower not declined in previous years, removes reference to projected spending in eighth paragraph) (Reuters) – U.S. healthcare spending grew faster in 2018 after two slower growth years, a governme... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s Olaf Scholz will carry on for now as finance minister despite losing a bid to lead his Social Democratic Party because he sees it as his duty not to sink the ruling coalition, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. Scholz ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British manufacturers cut jobs last month at the fastest rate since 2012, a survey showed on Monday, as pressures from Brexit and a global trade slowdown caused the sector’s longest decline since the financial crisis. The IHS Markit/CIPS man... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Euro zone manufacturing activity contracted for a 10th straight month in November although the bloc’s battered factories may have turned a corner as forward-looking indicators in Monday’s survey appear to have passed a nadir. IHS Markit’s fi... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s export-dependent manufacturing sector contracted at a slower pace for the second month in a row in November, a survey showed on Monday, as companies sounded optimistic about their future business. IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ ... More »
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Euro zone inflation accelerated faster than expected in November on a rise in food and services prices, likely comforting European Central Bank policymakers even if some factors pushing up prices may be only temporary. The ECB ha... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s exports, a key economic growth driver, are expected to grow to a record $114 billion in 2019 from $109 billion last year, government data showed on Sunday. According to the Central Bureau and Statistics and Economy Ministry, Isra... More »
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s cabinet has given ‘in-principle’ approval for the sale of strategic stakes in 28 state-run companies including state carrier Air India [AIN.UL], junior finance minister Anurag Singh Thakur told lawmakers on Monday. The government ... More »
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey said on Monday it had deported two Islamic State militants — a German and an American — beginning a programme to repatriate fighters that has caused friction with its NATO allies since it launched an offensive in northern Syria. Allie... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – New bank loans in China fell more than expected to the lowest in 22 months in October, but the drop was likely due to seasonal factors and policymakers are still expected to ramp up support for the cooling economy in coming months. Chinese ... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s central bank sees some room to further cut its key rate, First Deputy Governor Ksenia Yudayeva said on Monday. “…in principle, we currently see certain room for a further reduction, but we have to follow the situation very closely, ... More »
KINSHASA (Reuters) – The Congolese central bank expects the economy to grow 4.6% in 2019, after revising down an earlier estimate of 5.1% during a policy meeting on Friday. The new figure is more in line with a forecast from the International Monetary Fund, wh... More »
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Fewer new energy vehicles (NEV) could be sold in China this year than in 2018, an official at the country’s biggest auto industry association said on Monday, as customers hold back on purchases following a government decision to cu... More »
MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine annual inflation likely eased for a fifth straight month in October due to high base effects from the previous year as well as lower fuel and rice prices, a Reuters poll showed. The median forecast in a poll of 10 economists was f... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – New home prices in China grew at a steady pace in September, with fewer cities reporting price gains, a relief for policymakers who remain wary of high debt and bubble risk and are refraining from stimulating the sector as the economy cools... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s exports contracted for a 10th straight month in September, adding to speculation the central bank could ease monetary policy as soon as next week to support an economy hit by a slowdown in global demand. A bitter Sino-U.S. trade war a... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – A slide in China’s exports picked up pace in September while imports contracted for a fifth straight month, pointing to further weakness in the economy and underlining the need for more stimulus as the Sino-U.S. trade war drags on. Analysts... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s acting government trimmed its growth forecasts on Tuesday as part of draft budgetary plans submitted to the European Commission and raised a deficit estimate, at a time when political gridlock prevents Madrid from having much margin ... More »
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Dutch central bank said on Tuesday it would require banks to retain 3 billion euros ($3.31 billion) in additional capital to compensate for risks posed by mortgage portfolios. In its autumn report on financial stability, De Nederlands... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – French consumer prices fell 0.4% in September compared to August, giving a year-on-year inflation rate of 1.1%, according to EU-harmonised data published on Tuesday that confirmed earlier forecasts. The European Central Bank (ECB) has a targe... More »
OSLO (Reuters) – Norway on Tuesday reported it’s first monthly trade deficit in almost two years, a rare event triggered by a sharp fall in its sale of natural gas and a decline in the price of crude oil, the country’s two most important exports. The September... More »
(Reuters Health) – British citizens with HIV who live in Spain could face serious healthcare challenges post-Brexit, potentially risking public health at large, researchers say. A no-deal Brexit could leave many patients with HIV or other chronic conditions in... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s pig herd in September was 41.1% smaller than it was a year earlier, the agriculture ministry said on Monday, as a year-long African swine fever epidemic continued to slash the world’s largest herd. The number of sows in China also f... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – German industrial orders fell more than expected in August on weaker domestic demand, data showed on Monday, adding to signs that a manufacturing slump is pushing Europe’s largest economy into recession. Contracts for ‘Made in Germany’ goods... More »
