US PPI rose 0.5% in April from the previous month, beating expectations
On May 14, the US Labor Department released data showing that the US producer price index (PPI) increased by 0.5% in April, exceeding the market consensus of 0.3%. Producer prices rose 2.2 per cent in April from a year earlier. Excluding food and energy prices, the core PPI rose 0.5% month-on-month and 2.4% year-on-year, higher than the market expectation of 0.2%.
The Bank of England left interest rates unchanged for the sixth time in a row
Recently, the Bank of England announced the latest interest rate resolution, the sixth consecutive meeting to maintain the benchmark interest rate unchanged. On the same day, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 7-2 in favor of keeping the interest rate unchanged at 5.25%, with two voting in favor of a rate cut, respectively, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England Ramsden and monetary policy member Dhingra.
On May 14, the offshore RMB depreciated against the dollar and the euro, and appreciated against the yen
Offshore RMB slightly depreciated against the US dollar exchange rate, as of press time, offshore RMB against the US dollar exchange rate of 7.2396, compared with the previous trading close of 7.2382, depreciated 14 basis points.
Offshore RMB slightly depreciated against the euro exchange rate, as of press time, offshore RMB against the euro exchange rate of 7.8182, compared with the previous trading close of 7.8069, weaker by 113 basis points.
Offshore RMB strengthened slightly against 100 yen, as of press time, offshore RMB against 100 yen exchange rate of 4.6200, compared with the previous trading close of 4.6300, appreciation of 100 basis points.
On May 14, the onshore RMB depreciated against US dollar and the euro, but was unchanged against the Japanese yen
The onshore RMB exchange rate weakened slightly against the US dollar. As of press time, the onshore RMB exchange rate against the US dollar was 7.2345, which was 7 basis points weaker than the previous trading day’s close of 7.2338.
The onshore RMB exchange rate weakened slightly against the euro, as of press time, the onshore RMB exchange rate against the euro was 7.8102, compared with the last trading day’s close of 7.8024, depreciating 78 basis points.
The onshore RMB / 100 yen exchange rate was unchanged, as of press time, the onshore RMB / 100 yen exchange rate was 4.6200, unchanged from the previous trading day’s trading price of 4.6200.
On May 14, the RMB central parity rate appreciated against the US dollar and the euro, and appreciated against the yen
The RMB exchange rate weakened slightly against the US dollar, with the central parity rate of the RMB against the US dollar at 7.1053, 23 basis points weaker than the previous trading day’s 7.1030.
The exchange rate of RMB against the euro weakened slightly, with the central parity rate of RMB against the euro at 7.6951, which was 122 basis points weaker than the previous trading day’s 7.6829.
The RMB strengthened slightly against the 100 yen exchange rate, with the central parity rate of the RMB to the 100 yen exchange rate at 4.5752, up 115 basis points from the previous trading day at 4.586.
Eurozone GDP rose 0.3% in the first quarter from the previous quarter
Eurozone gross domestic product grew 0.3% in the first three months of the year on a seasonally adjusted basis compared with the previous quarter, according to preliminary figures from Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office. Signs of a modest spring recovery have emerged, with the eurozone economy growing more strongly in April than it has for almost a year, surveys show. The European Central Bank (ECB), which is considering an interest rate change in June, expects a gradual recovery for the full year, with GDP growing 0.6%.
Vietnam’s exports rose 10.6% in April from a year earlier
Recently, the General Bureau of Statistics of Vietnam released data, April trade surplus recorded 680 million US dollars, last month’s trade surplus of 2.9 billion US dollars. Vietnam’s exports rose 10.6% in April from a year earlier and 14.2% in March. Vietnam’s imports rose 19.9% in April from a year earlier, compared with 9.7% in March.
Bangladesh sets out plans to boost tax revenues
A three-tier time-limited action plan (2025, 2031 and 2041) has been drawn up by the National Revenue Service, which relies heavily on the digitization and full coverage networking of the tax system to raise revenue and fund the construction of “Smart Bangladesh”. Under this ambitious plan, NBR will complete 25% of the interconnection works by 2025, 50% by 2031 and 100% by 2041, the action plan said.
The amount of South Korean consumers buying goods from China has soared year-on-year
According to data released by the National Statistical Office, South Korean consumers’ overseas online shopping increased 9.4% year-on-year to 1.65 trillion won ($1.19 billion) in the January-March period, a record high. Among them, the transactions with Chinese sellers amounted to 938.4 billion won, an increase of 53.9% from the same period last year, accounting for 57% of the total overseas online shopping of Korean consumers, the highest proportion ever.
Wayfair Q1 net revenue declined 1.6% year-over-year
Wayfair announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024. Data show that in the first quarter of 2024, the company’s total net revenue was $2.7 billion, a decrease of $45 million, or 1.6%. U.S. net revenue was $2.4 billion, a decrease of $24 million or 1.0% year-over-year.
Freight rates soared, with the biggest increases from Shanghai to Rotterdam and Los Angeles
Recently, the global shipping market container rates continue to rise, the Drury index shows that the comprehensive global index rose 16% this week to $3159 per FEU, an increase of 81%. Shanghai to Rotterdam, Los Angeles and other routes have increased sharply, up as much as 18 to 20 percent. Analysts expect it to remain high in the near term.
Shenzhen Airport opened a new Shenzhen-Kuching international route
Recently, a B738 all-cargo aircraft of Malaysia World Cargo Airlines flew from Shenzhen Airport to Kuching, which is the second new international cargo route opened by Shenzhen Airport this year. After the opening of the route, Shenzhen Airport domestic and foreign cargo routes to reach 60 points. The route leaves the port 3 times a week, the weekly departure capacity of more than 60 tons, the main cargo for e-commerce, general trade and express goods.
China sales at Japan’s Big Three automakers fell sharply in April
According to Japan’s Kyodo news, Japan’s three major automakers in April new car sales data in China released on May 9. Toyota sold 118,200 vehicles, down 27.3% from a year earlier. Honda fell 22.2% to 73,831 vehicles, while Nissan Motor Co. fell 10.4% to 54,921 vehicles. New energy vehicles such as pure electric vehicles (EVs) are gaining popularity in China, but Japanese automakers have been slow to launch EVs. Toyota and Honda have recorded negative growth for three consecutive months.
Uber’s first-quarter revenue rose 15% from a year earlier
Recently, Uber released its financial results for the first quarter of 2024 as of March 31: revenue was $10.1 billion, an increase of 15%. The net loss attributable to Uber was $654 million, compared with a net loss of $157 million a year earlier. Uber expects total orders to reach $38.75 billion to $40.25 billion in the second quarter of 2024, an increase of 18% to 23% year-over-year.
GPT4o is coming
On May 14, OpenAI held its spring press conference to release the latest GPT-4o multimodal large model, which is faster and cheaper than GPT-4 Trubo. GPT-4o can also detect a person’s emotions, OpenAI says. During the demonstration, Zoph asked ChatGPT to tell him what he looked like, and after a second attempt, GPT noticed the smile on Zoph’s face and told him, “It looks like you’re feeling very happy and beaming.”
