· CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
- China's death toll rises to more than 1,700 as Hubei reports 100 new deaths
China's death toll in the coronavirus outbreak reached 1,765 on Monday (Feb 17) as Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, reported 1,933 new cases, and 100 additional deaths.
At least 70,400 people have now been infected nationwide.
The Hubei health commission said the total number of cases in the province had reached 58,182 by the end of Sunday, with 1,696 deaths.
- China's Hubei reports 1,933 new cases of coronavirus on Feb. 16: health bureau
China’s Hubei province, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic, reported 1,933 new cases and 100 new deaths on Feb. 16, the local health authority said on Monday.
The number of new cases rose nearly 5% from the previous day, but the number of deaths fell from 139 on Saturday. Nearly 90% of the new cases were in the provincial capital of Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have originated.
- An 80-year-old Chinese tourist infected with the coronavirus has died in France, the first fatality in Europe and the fourth outside mainland China from an epidemic that has shut Chinese factories, curbed travel and disrupted global supply chains.
- Xi says China must keep economic, social order while battling coronavirus
China must make every effort to maintain economic and social control as it battles the coronavirus epidemic, and avoid causing panic that could lead to secondary “disasters,” President Xi Jinping told senior officials earlier this month.
- China says to support firms to resume production as soon as possible
Liang Tao, vice chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, told a news conference China would accelerate lending and credit support for key investment projects, while supporting small and private firms hit by the virus outbreak.
- IMF chief hopes for global policy response to mitigate coronavirus impact
The International Monetary Fund hopes governments and central banks will work on a response to the coronavirus outbreak once the economic impact becomes clear, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Georgieva said the next few weeks would be crucial to build up a “bottom-up” picture of the impact of the virus in China and worldwide.
- White House economic adviser says coronavirus outbreak could 'maybe' impact U.S. GDP in first quarter
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Friday the coronavirus outbreak in China could “maybe” knock two- to three-tenths of a percent off U.S. GDP in the first quarter.
“We’re thinking maybe in the first quarter we lose ... two or three tenths of one percent of GDP,” the National Economic Council director said in an interview on Fox Business Network.
- Singapore downgrades GDP due to virus, likely to spend big in annual budget
Singapore, one of the worst-hit from the outbreak with among the highest number of cases outside of China, downgraded its growth forecast on Monday.
To cushion the economic blows from the virus outbreak, economists said the Singapore government will likely register one of its largest fiscal deficits on record this year — with estimates ranging from 7 billion Singapore dollars ($5.04 billion) to 8 billion Singapore dollars.
Singapore’s economy grew by 1% in the fourth quarter of last year, the country’s Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Monday.
The latest figures were a revision from the government’s earlier estimates of 0.8% growth in the three months from October to December.
The ministry also said it downgraded its 2020 forecast for the Singapore economy to -0.5% to 1.5% from 0.5% to 2.5% previously.
- Japan’s economy shrinks at fastest pace in 6 years, virus clouds outlook
Japan’s economy shrank at the fastest pace in six years in the December quarter as a sales tax hike and soft global demand hurt consumption and capital expenditure, keeping policymakers under pressure to prop up growth with additional stimulus.
The hit to the world’s third-largest economy comes amid fresh concerns about weakness in the current quarter, as the coronavirus damages output and tourism, stoking fears Japan may be on the cusp of a recession — defined as two straight quarters of decline.
Gross domestic product (GDP) fell an annualized 6.3% in the October-December period, faster than a median market forecast for a 3.7% contraction, data released by the government showed on Monday.
The drop, which followed a revised 0.5% gain in July-September, was the biggest since a 7.4% decline marked in April-June 2014.
The contraction translated into a 1.6% quarter-on-quarter decline, against a median forecast for a 0.9% fall.
- Japan manufacturers remain pessimistic as coronavirus fears grow
Worries about the spread of the coronavirus and its hit to the global economy kept Japanese manufacturers’ mood gloomy in February, a Reuters poll found, even as firms shook off previous worries about the impact of the Sino-U.S. trade war.
The monthly poll, which tracks the Bank of Japan’s key tankan quarterly survey, found business confidence across the sectors staying flat over the next three months, as the coronavirus added to uncertainty over the global outlook and the October national sales tax hike.
· Euro rebounds as US stocks fall, growth concerns remain
The euro bounced against the greenback on Friday as U.S. stocks declined from record highs, though concerns about growth in the eurozone are expected to keep weighing on the single currency.
Anxiety about the impact of the coronavirus on the European economy this week helped send the euro to its lowest levels against the dollar in 2-1/2 years.
A report on Friday that Fiat Chrysler plans to close a plant in Serbia due to a lack of parts added to fears that ties to China leave Europe’s economy vulnerable.
The German economy stagnated in the fourth quarter due to weaker private consumption and state spending, renewing fears of a recession just as Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives are preoccupied with a search for a new leader.
The euro fell to $1.0826, the lowest since May 2017, before rebounding to $1.0835. It has fallen from $1.1095 on Feb. 3. The euro came off its lows as U.S. stocks declined from record highs reached on Thursday. U.S. data showed clothing store sales in January declining the most since 2009, which could raise concerns about the staying power of the moderate economic expansion.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded at 99.106 against a basket of currencies, off an earlier high of 99.135.
The Japanese yen, considered a safe-haven asset, changed hands at 109.81 per dollar while the Australian dollar was up 0.21% against the greenback at 0.6727.
· U.S. raises tariffs on European aircraft in ongoing dispute over subsidies
The U.S. government on Friday said it would increase tariffs on aircraft imported from the European Union to 15% from 10%, ratcheting up pressure on Brussels in a nearly 16-year transatlantic dispute over aircraft subsidies.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office said it remained open to reaching a negotiated settlement with the EU on the issue, but could revise its actions if the EU imposed tariffs of its own in connection with a pair of disputes over the subsidies.
In a statement released late on Friday, USTR said it would make minor modifications to 25% tariffs imposed on cheese, wine and other non-aircraft products from the EU, including dropping prune juice from the list. It did not raise the tariff rates on those product, as it had suggested it might do in October.
The higher aircraft tariff will take effect March 18.
· Oil rises over 1% on hopes demand will rebound from coronavirus effect
Oil prices rose over 1% on Friday, posting their first weekly gain since early January as investors bet the economic impact of the coronavirus would be short-lived and hoped for further Chinese central bank stimulus to tackle any slowdown.
Brent crude LCOc1 rose 98 cents, or 1.74%, to settle at $57.32 a barrel. It rose 5.23% since last Friday, its first weekly increase in six weeks.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures CLc1 gained 63 cents, or 1.23%, to settle at $52.05 a barrel. The weekly rise was 3.44%.
Brent has fallen around 15% year to date in part due to worries the coronavirus outbreak would stunt the global economy. More than 1,380 people have died from the virus in China.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters, The Straits Times
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