South Korea’s Weak Won Struggles as Retail Investors Pour Money Into U.S. Stocks 
U.S. Stock Futures Slide as Tech Rout Deepens on Amazon Capex Shock 
Oil Prices Slide on US-Iran Talks, Dollar Strength and Profit-Taking Pressure 
Gold Prices Slide Below $5,000 as Strong Dollar and Central Bank Outlook Weigh on Metals 
Singapore Budget 2026 Set for Fiscal Prudence as Growth Remains Resilient 
Silver Prices Plunge in Asian Trade as Dollar Strength Triggers Fresh Precious Metals Sell-Off 
South Korea Assures U.S. on Trade Deal Commitments Amid Tariff Concerns 
China Extends Gold Buying Streak as Reserves Surge Despite Volatile Prices 
Trump Signs Executive Order Threatening 25% Tariffs on Countries Trading With Iran 
Asian Markets Slip as AI Spending Fears Shake Tech, Wall Street Futures Rebound 
Thailand Inflation Remains Negative for 10th Straight Month in January 
Trump Endorses Japan’s Sanae Takaichi Ahead of Crucial Election Amid Market and China Tensions 
Asian Stocks Slip as Tech Rout Deepens, Japan Steadies Ahead of Election 
Gold and Silver Prices Slide as Dollar Strength and Easing Tensions Weigh on Metals 
Dollar Near Two-Week High as Stock Rout, AI Concerns and Global Events Drive Market Volatility 
Fed Governor Lisa Cook Warns Inflation Risks Remain as Rates Stay Steady 
Oil Prices Slip as U.S.–Iran Talks Ease Supply Disruption Fears 
Danish April inflation surprised markets, remaining flat at 0.0 pct, same as in March but well below expectations of a pick up to 0.2 pct. Expectations of food prices to decline around Easter and then soar post that amid depressed clothes’ prices, kept calculations on the upside.
Clothes’ prices gained only slightly at -3.9 pct with women’s and children’s clothes down by 8 pct and 7.1 pct respectively on intensified competition from retailers. In addition, the government is likely to scrap the PSO tax on electricity this year and partly replace it by higher income tax, increasing chances to lower electricity prices by around 10 pct and overall inflation by 0.2 pips throughout 2017. Although there is no decision yet but comments from other parties suggest it is a likely outcome.
"We have lowered our outlook for clothes’ prices so there is only a partial rebound. We now forecast 0.0% y/y for May CPI, after which the inflation rate will start to increase gradually
driven by base effects, reaching 1% y/y towards the end of the year. That gives us an average
rate of 0.4% for all of 2016, which would be the lowest since 1953. For 2017, the scrapped
PSO tax lowers the inflation outlook to 1.4% for the whole year," said Danske Bank in a recent report.
Drop in Danish inflation is driven almost exclusively by goods’ prices. Service price inflation and wage growth show that domestic inflation pressure is not dead but some of the decline in goods’ prices could be the result of increased competition in retail sector, particularly from foreign online retailers.
"The current wage growth is regulated by collective agreements made in 2014, which will be renegotiated next year. This has helped to underpin consumption growth but high real wage growth is also hurting profits, as it is not supported by high productivity growth, quite the contrary. However, the proposed tax change for 2017 will supposedly not affect purchasing power much and should also lower costs for businesses," Danske Bank said in a research piece.
