Japan Inc unenthused over Abe's stimulus, BOJ easing: Reuters poll
Japanese companies overwhelmingly say the government's latest stimulus will do little to boost the economy and the Bank of Japan should not ease further, a Reuters poll showed, a setback for policymakers' efforts to overcome deflation and stagnation.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this month unveiled a 13.5 trillion yen ($135 billion) fiscal package of public works projects and other measures, vowing a united front with the BOJ to revive the economy and raising speculation of a surge in government spending essentially financed by the central bank.
But less than 5 percent of companies believe the steps will boost the economy near-term or raise its growth potential, according to the Reuters Corporate Survey, conducted August 1-16.
"Many companies appear to want the government to shift focus away from fiscal stimulus to structural reform and deregulation, while feeling monetary policy has hit limits," said Hidenobu Tokuda, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute.
BOJ's Kuroda says won't rule out deepening negative rate cut-Sankei
The Bank of Japan will not rule out deepening a cut to negative rates it introduced in February, the Sankei newspaper quoted Governor Haruhiko Kuroda as saying, even as the controversial policy has failed to spur inflation or economic growth.
In an interview with the daily, Kuroda said the BOJ's negative rate policy has not reached its limits.
"The degree of negative rates introduced by European central banks is bigger than Japan. Technically there definitely is room for a further cut," Kuroda told the Sankei.
The BOJ stunned markets in January when it set a minus 0.1 percent rate on some deposits that banks place at the central bank, with the move taking effect from February. aimed at achieving its 2 percent inflation target.
Oil falls as August price rally seen overblown, China fuel exports jump
Oil prices fell on Monday as analysts doubted upcoming producer talks would rein in oversupply, saying that Brent would likely fall back below $50 a barrel as August's more than 20-percent crude rally looks overblown.
Soaring exports of refined products from China also pressured prices, as this was seen as the latest indicator of an ongoing global fuel glut, traders said.
China's July exports of diesel and gasoline soared by 181.8 and 145.2 percent respectively compared with the same month last year, to 1.53 million tonnes and 970,000 tonnes each, putting pressure on refined product margins DUB-SIN-REF.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were trading at $49.93 per barrel at 0641 GMT (0241 ET), down 95 cents, or 1.87 percent.
"Positioning data seems to confirm our view that the latest oil bounce is more technical and positioning-oriented than fundamental. In fact, new buyers have been mostly absent the past few months," Morgan Stanley said.
Reference: Reuters
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