BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s factory activity fell at a slower pace in May as COVID-19 curbs in major manufacturing hubs were relaxed, but movement controls continued to weigh on demand and production, raising doubts about economic growth in the second quarter. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 49.6 in May from 47.4 in…
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s Economy Ministry has accepted a U.S. request to probe alleged labor abuses at a Panasonic auto parts plant in the northern border city of Reynosa, it said on Monday. The request from the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) earlier this month marked the third U.S. labor complaint under a new trade…
Shares were mixed in Asia on Wednesday after a wobbly day on Wall Street closed out a month buffeted by worries about a possible recession, inflation and rising interest rates. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.7% to 27,472.49. Japan’s parliament late Tuesday enacted a $21 billion extra budget to tackle soaring fuel and food prices following…
By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) -A surge in Australia’s imports in the first quarter and surprising strength in government spending and inventories have added to uncertainty over this week’s reading on gross domestic product (GDP). The current account surplus shrank unexpectedly, data showed on Tuesday, as the jump in imports took a chunk out of…
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Stocks wobbled and bonds fell in Asia, while the dollar rose on Tuesday after a hot inflation reading in Germany heightened nerves about the pace and scale of looming interest rate hikes. Rising energy prices added to worry about the persistence of consumer pain. Brent crude futures touched a two-month top of…
By Alun John HONG KONG (Reuters) – The euro gave back some of its recent gains on Tuesday, but was still set for its best month in a year as markets reposition in anticipation of interest rate increases in Europe and the possibility of a slower pace of U.S. rate hikes. The euro was at…
By Daniel Leussink and Kantaro Komiya TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s factories posted a sharp fall in output in April as China’s COVID-19 lockdowns and wider supply disruptions took a heavy toll on manufacturers, clouding the outlook for the trade-reliant economy. Separate data showed retail sales posted the largest rise in nearly a year as consumers stepped…
(Reuters) – Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Tuesday after European Union leaders said they had agreed to cut 90% of oil imports from Russia by the end of this year. Brent crude futures for July, which will expire on Tuesday, gained 63 cents to $122.30 a barrel at 0012 GMT. U.S. West…
By Indradip Ghosh and Prerana Bhat BENGALURU (Reuters) – Burning U.S. house price inflation will cool to 10%, half its current rate this year, and slow further over the next two as already very expensive homes and climbing mortgage rates sideline more prospective homebuyers, a Reuters poll found. Supported by near-zero borrowing costs and a…
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s April factory output shrank by the most in nearly two years, though the service sector held firm, government data showed on Tuesday. Industrial production in April decreased by a seasonally-adjusted 3.3% from a month earlier, shrinking for the first time in seven months and marking the biggest decline since May…
