Forecast

- A + A (Aug 17): The Reserve Bank of New Zealand forecast home prices will keep sliding, as it hiked interest rates by half a point for the fourth straight meeting, with Governor Adrian Orr saying the central bank has clearly signalled risks to homebuyers. “The central projection assumes that prices will continue to decline until the September 2023 quarter,” the RBNZ said in a release. “This would result in a total decline of 15% from the December 2021 quarter peak, slightly more than assumed in the May Statement.” The Real Estate Institute’s price index slid 2.9% from a year earlier, the first fall since 2011, the group said last week. The gauge has dropped for five consecutive months. At a press briefing in Wellington, Orr was asked what he would say to those who have bought homes only to see prices drop and mortgage-servicing costs rise. Recent buyers should expect some belt-tightening, he said. “First and foremost we aren’t heartless,” Orr said, underlining … [Read more...] about RBNZ chief warns New Zealand home prices will keep falling

- A + A MELBOURNE (Aug 17): Santos does not expect the Australian government to curb exports from the country's three east coast liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants, as the owners will find a way to supply enough fuel to the domestic market to avert a forecast shortfall. On Aug 1, the competition watchdog urged the government to consider curbing gas exports under the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism (ADGSM) for the first time, warning that the country faced a gas supply shortfall in 2023. Santos Chief Executive Kevin Gallagher said he expects the three east coast LNG exporters — GLNG run by Santos, QCLNG run by Shell Plc, and APLNG run by ConocoPhillips — to reach a deal with the government to cover the forecast 56 petajoules shortfall from their uncontracted gas volumes. Santos' GLNG plant is seen as the most likely of the three east coast LNG plants to face export curbs, as GLNG takes some gas from the domestic market to help meet its LNG export sales, … [Read more...] about Santos confident Australia will not trigger gas export curbs

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 17): Sime Darby Bhd expects electric vehicle (EV) sales to increase from the current 3,000 units sold as at June 30, 2022, which contributed a mere 4.5% of its motor division revenue, according to Sime Darby Motors managing director Andrew Basham. "The organisations we are working with are trying to ramp up the production of the EV cars, so we will see the selling number of the EV cars increase in the next financial year, especially in Hong Kong”, said Basham, without disclosing any forecasts. He said about half of all cars sold in the global market will be EVs by 2030. "This will take a long time because of lack of capacity such as batteries and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). In European markets in particular, they expect more than half of their motor division's sales to come from EVs by 2030. "I suspect that in our region, as well as in China, at least half of the sales will come from EVs by 2030. That's just my guess," … [Read more...] about Sime Darby aims for higher electric vehicle sales

Jindal Steel & Power Aluminium manufacturers in India may be staring at uncertain times going ahead as global prices continue to soften even as global manufacturers cut supplies amid escalating costs. State-run National Aluminium Company (NALCO) reported a sequential decline in topline and operational performance in the first quarter of 2022-23 after the market hours on August 8. While typically June quarter is weak for the sector, there are signs that the global weakness is weighing on the country’s aluminium manufacturers. The outlook of the aluminium players looks way grimmer given the global trend and local players being highly sensitive to the London Metal Exchange (LME) prices are not expected to be unscathed. A report from Morgan Stanley on the industry early in July suggested that eroding margins of aluminium players due to falling commodity prices and rising smelter cost curve raise the risk of further capacity curtailment across the industry- a trend which … [Read more...] about Aluminium manufacturers brace for uncertainty as global majors cut supplies amid escalating fuel cost

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., August 15, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File photo By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK- Stronger-than-expected corporate earnings have helped fuel the rebound for U.S. stocks but some investors are pointing to potential risks ahead for profits that could sap the market’s momentum. With the vast majority of S&P 500 companies reported, second-quarter earnings are expected to have climbed 9.7 percent from a year earlier, well above the 5.6 percent estimated on July 1, according to Refinitiv IBES. The robust profits have supported a rally that has taken the S&P 500 up about 14 percent this quarter, after a brutal first half. Some market participants are growing concerned, however, that strong corporate numbers may not last, as companies face an array of challenges, including surging inflation and changing consumer spending habits. These may make it difficult for stocks to hold their recent … [Read more...] about As earnings support U.S. stock rebound, worries over future profits grow

An oil pump jack pumps oil in a field near Calgary, Alberta, Canada . REUTERS/Todd Korol/File photo By Stephanie Kelly and Noah Browning NEW YORK/LONDON – Traders and fund managers have left crude oil markets in recent months, dropping activity to a seven-year low amid the worst global energy crisis in decades as investors become unwilling to deal with persistently high volatility. The exodus of participants, especially hedge funds and speculators, has made daily price swings far greater than in previous years, making it harder for companies to hedge against physical purchases of oil. The volatility has harmed companies that need energy market stability for their operations, which includes oil-and-gas companies, but also manufacturing and food-and-beverage industries. Brent crude futures are swinging sharply on a daily basis. Between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 through Aug. 15, the daily range between Brent’s session highs and lows averaged $5.64. For the same time … [Read more...] about Oil prices turn more volatile as investors exit the market

Plastic letters arranged to read “Inflation” are placed on British Pound banknote in this illustration taken, June 12, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration LONDON-British consumer price inflation jumped to 10.1 percent in July, its highest since February 1982, up from an annual rate of 9.4 percent in June, intensifying the squeeze on households, official figures showed on Wednesday. The increase was above all economists’ forecasts in a Reuters poll for inflation to rise to 9.8 percent in July, and will do nothing to ease the Bank of England’s concerns that price pressures may become entrenched. Earlier this month the BoE raised its key interest rate by 0.5 percent to 1.75 percent – its first half-point rise since 1995 – and it forecast inflation would peak at 13.3 percent in October, when regulated household energy prices are next due to rise. Wednesday’s figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that prices rose 0.6 percent in July from June on a non-seasonally … [Read more...] about UK inflation hits double digits, highest since 1982

Representative image Trade Watchlist Portfolio Message Set Alert live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More × Corporate India pins hope on the domestic economy to keep up the momentum in earnings revival despite a looming global slowdown. Most corporates focused on the domestic market pointed to robust demand outlook, thanks to complete reopening from the pandemic blues, higher government spending on infrastructure, an overall good monsoons, the upbeat mood for the festive season, higher industrial utilisation, order backlogs, and continued formalisation of the economy, brokerage firm Emkay Global said in a note. “With normal monsoon forecast, we expect better demand and softer raw material prices towards the latter half of the year, which would help in better the topline momentum as well as margin,” Manish Dawar, executive director and chief financial officer at … [Read more...] about India Inc banks on strong domestic demand to keep earnings momentum intact

Oil prices dropped in Asia trade on Friday amid an uncertain demand outlook, though benchmark contracts were headed for weekly gains as recession fears eased. Brent crude futures fell 49 cents, or 0.5%, to $99.11 a barrel at 0330 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 50 cents, or 0.5%, to $93.84 a barrel. Brent was on track to climb more than 4% for the week, recouping part of last week's 14% tumble, its biggest weekly decline since April 2020 amid fears that rising inflation and interest rate hikes will hit economic growth and fuel demand. WTI was heading for a weekly gain of more than 5%, recouping about half of the previous week's loss. Uncertainty capped price gains as the market absorbed contrasting demand views from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA). Close "While the peaking-inflation narrative has given some traction for risk assets lately, the more measured … [Read more...] about Oil prices slip on cloudy demand outlook, but poised for weekly gain

Commodities saw another strong weekly finish indicating that the buyers have re-entered after a brief break earlier this month. Weakness in the US dollar index, improved risk sentiment and supply issues have lent support to commodities. We saw a rally across commodities indicating broad-based buying, however, there were few highlights. Gold breached the pivotal $1,800 per troy ounce level and tested 1-month high; Zinc zoomed to 2-month high while copper topped $8,000 per tonne level; crude oil recovered more than 9 percent from February lows set late last month. The US dollar index slumped to six-week low amid increasing debate about Fed’s monetary policy. Improved risk sentiment also reduced its safe haven appeal. The Fed’s meeting by meeting approach has caused uncertainty in the market and market players are looking at US economic numbers and central bank comments to gauge the central bank’s next move. Also read - CCI nod for merger of HDFC Bank, HDFC Ltd Close … [Read more...] about Dollar trend to be key factor for commodities as Fed’s rate tightening debate intensifies