US stocks slide on fears Trump will announce car tariffs tonight. UK inflation falls unexpectedly. Australia’s inflation rate slips as Budget rebates are set to keep repressing headline CPI. And Indonesia’s currency is the lowest it’s been since the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997.
In our bonus deep dive interview, ANZ Commodity Strategist Soni Kumari tracks the fortunes of silver following record-setting price moves for gold.
5 things to know in 5 minutes:
US stocks fell 1% after a report Donald Trump could announce tariffs on car imports later tonight. Meanwhile, ANZ Economist Bansi Madhavani says UK headline inflation was lower, but underlying inflation remains sticky.
Australia’s monthly inflation indicator fell to 2.4% year-on-year in February from 2.5% in January. ANZ Senior Economist Adelaide Timbrell says a key swing factor was a 2.5% dip in electricity prices after a large rise in January.
Adelaide says a key policy extension in Tuesday’s Federal Budget is likely to affect headline CPI readings over the next year, just as state and federal energy rebates have depressed it during the past 12 months.
The Bank of Japan’s Governor yesterday said he wanted to ‘keep his options open’ ahead of the central bank’s May 1 rate decision, says ANZ Senior Economist Tom Kenny. The yen weakened slightly on the comments.
Worries about Indonesia’s fiscal position have caused the Rupiah to slump below COVID pandemic levels to 16,600 to the US dollar in recent days. ANZ Head of Asia Research Khoon Goh says the rupiah is at its lowest level since the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997.
Cheers,
Bernard
PS: Catch you tomorrow with analysis from Khoon on equity portfolio outflows from Asian economies this quarter.
