- USDTHB: moving in the range 36.14-36.295 this morning supportive level at 36.05 resistance level at 36.35
· SET Index: 1,378.7 (-0.29%), 20 May 2024
· S&P 500 Index: 5,303.3 (+0.12%), 20 May 2024
· Thai 10-year government bond yield (interpolated): 2.75 (+2.18 bps), 20 May 2024
· US 10-year treasury yield: 4.44 (+2.00 bps), 20 May 2024
- Interest rates likely to remain above levels seen in past decade
- Japan closely monitoring weak yen and bond market, Finance Minister says
- China's fiscal revenue shrank 2.7% in Jan-April amid shaky economic recovery
- Dollar steadies, but on track for sharp weekly loss
Interest rates likely to remain above levels seen in past decade Interest rates in the U.S. could remain higher than where they were for much of the last decade as recently-elevated inflation slowly subsides, according to Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic. Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg Television, Bostic said that borrowing costs, which currently stand at a more than two-decade high, are "slowing things down" in the U.S. economy and helping to deflate some price pressures. With interest rates at their current level of 5.25% to 5.5%, Bostic said he expects inflation will continue to fall throughout the rest of the year and continue moderating into 2025. However, he flagged that it will still take some time before price expansion finally retreats back down to the Fed's 2% target level.
Japan closely monitoring weak yen and bond market, Finance Minister says Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Tuesday he was concerned about the negative implications of the current weakness in the yen and its effect on incentives to increase wages. "One of our major goals is to achieve wage increases that exceed the rise in prices," Suzuki said. "On the other hand, if prices continue to remain high, it will be difficult to reach this target even if wages rise.“ While a weak yen is a boon to exporters, it has become a headache for Japanese policymakers as it hurts consumption by pushing up the cost of raw material imports. The yen's slump past 160-per-dollar late last month triggered a suspected round of interventions by Tokyo. The Japanese currency has bounced since then and was last fetching around 156.45.
China's fiscal revenue shrank 2.7% in Jan-April amid shaky economic recovery China's fiscal revenue slipped 2.7% in the first four months of 2024 from a year earlier, after a 2.3% slide in the January-March period, in a further sign of an uneven economic recovery. Fiscal expenditure rose 3.5% in the first four months, versus a 2.9% gain in the first quarter, according to finance ministry data released on Monday. For April alone, fiscal revenue fell 3.7% against a 2.4% decline in March, while fiscal spending was up 6.1%, compared with March's 2.9% fall, according to Reuters' calculations based on the ministry data. Excluding factors such as last year's high base and tax cut policies, fiscal revenue in the first four months grew 2%, the ministry said in a statement. China has set an ambitious economic growth target of around 5% for this year, which many analysts say will be a challenge to meet as prolonged weakness in the property sector and tepid consumer demand remain a drag on the economy.
Dollar steadies, but on track for sharp weekly loss The 10-year government bond yield (interpolated) on the previous trading day was 2.75, +2.18 bps. The benchmark government bond yield (LB31DA) was 2.735, +2.50 bps. Meantime, the latest closed US 10-year bond yields was 4.44, +2.00 bps. USDTHB on the previous trading day closed around 36.01. Moving in a range of 36.14-36.295 this morning. USDTHB could be closed between 36.05-36.35 today. The dollar edged up against the euro on Monday as investors awaited further clues on the path of U.S. interest rates in the wake of cautious comments from Federal Reserve officials, even as inflation showed signs of cooling. Federal Reserve officials are not ready to say inflation is heading to the U.S. central bank's 2% target after data last week showed a welcome easing in consumer price pressures in April, with several on Monday calling for continued policy caution. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Monday it will take a while for the Federal Reserve to be confident that inflation is on track back to its goal. The euro was 0.05% down against the dollar at $1.0863. Against the yen, the dollar was up 0.4% to 156.26 yen.
Sources : ttb analytics , Bloomberg, CNBC, Trading economics, Investing, CEIC
