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18 Sep 2023

It seems that Ueda talks are useless...

USD/JPY

18 Sep 2023

China Gold Premium to the rest of the world hit a new record of $120 an ounce as Beijing defends yuan

Gold in China is trading at a record premium to international prices, a sign of Beijing’s escalating battle to defend its currency. Bullion on the Shanghai Gold Exchange traded at a premium of more than $120 an ounce on Thursday, according to calculations by Bloomberg. That’s the highest since the exchange was founded over two decades ago, as a weak yuan drove up prices in recent weeks. Source: Bloomberg

15 Sep 2023

China’s retail sales and industrial production picked up pace in August with better-than-expected growth, according to National Bureau of Statistics data released Friday

Retail sales grew by 4.6% in August from a year ago, beating expectations for 3% growth forecast by a Reuters poll. The increase was also faster than the 2.5% year-on-year pace in July. Industrial production grew by 4.5% in August from a year ago, better than the 3.9% forecast and faster than the 3.7% increase reported for July. Fixed asset investment, however, grew by 3.2% year-on-year in August on a year-to-date basis. That missed expectations for a 3.3% increase and was slower than the 3.4% pace reported as of July. The figure was dragged down by a steeper drop in real estate investment, and a slowdown in infrastructure investment. Only manufacturing saw the pace of investment pick up. Statistics bureau spokesperson Fu Linghui said the real estate market was still in a period of “adjustment” and noted declines in sales and investment. Source: CNBC

14 Sep 2023

While China has been offloading US Treasuries for 10+ years, the rate has accelerated

Both Canada and Mexico also now account for a higher % of US imports than China. These stories belong to the "new normal": the East-West divide, reshoring / nearshoring / friendshoring, etc. Source: Tavi Costa, Bloomberg, The Kobeissi Letter

13 Sep 2023

2022 global military budgets hit an all-time high of $2.2 trillion

When you combine the military budgets of the US and China, it surpasses the combined budgets of all other countries in the world! By Genuine Impact / Chris Quinn

12 Sep 2023

After hitting a 16-year low against the U.S. Dollar, China's currency had its biggest gain in almost 3 weeks after the country issued a warning not to bet against its currency

Source: Barchart, FT

11 Sep 2023

Japan's 10-year yield surged this morning to 0.70%, its highest level in almost a decade, following weekend comments by Bank of Japan (boj) Governor Kazuo Ueda

Ueda said the central bank’s lifting of its negative interest rate policy will become an option if wages and prices rise, revealing his thinking during an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun. Ueda said that “there are various options” including lifting the negative interest rate policy once the central bank is confident that Japan has achieved sustainable price increases accompanied by rising wages. The negative interest rate policy is a pillar of the Bank of Japan’s large-scale monetary easing measures. While an easy monetary policy environment will be maintained for the time being, signs of factors could emerge that would allow a decision to be made by the end of the year, he indicated. This is the first time Ueda has given an exclusive interview to any media organization since taking office in April. Source: The Japan News, Tavi Costa, Bloomberg

11 Sep 2023

India Nifty 50 Index. Big picture, via 5% box size

Source: Mark Ungewitter

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