Asia

Thai Exports Fall For Third Straight Month. Thai exports unexpectedly fell in July for the third month in a row, raising concern that lingering weak global demand will make it harder for the country to escape recession. The commerce ministry reported yesterday that exports declined 1.48% in July from a year earlier while imports rose 1.08%. July was the second straight month for which a Reuters poll of economists had forecast an annual increase of exports, but they fell instead. The poll had projected a 0.8% increase in July. For June, the poll forecast a 1.5% gain, but exports dropped 3.4% from a year earlier. (Reuters)

Japan Starts Tax Hike Hearing. Japan's government kicks off a week-long series of hearings with economists, business leaders and consumer advocates on Monday that may sway premier Shinzo Abe's decision on how to proceed with a planned hike in the country's sales tax. During six days of hearings to Saturday, the government will gather opinions from 60 people on Japan's most significant fiscal reform in years – a change that is unpopular but equally seen as necessary to reduce Japan's public debt, which recently reached 1,000 trillion yen (US$10 trillion). The participants include academics, consumer and labour union heads and executives from businesses ranging from a small spring maker to auto giant Toyota Motor Corp. (Reuters)

China On Track To Meet 7.5% GDP Growth Target. China’s economy is showing clear signs of stabilisation, helped by policy support and some improvement in global demand, and is on track to meet the government’s 2013 growth target of 7.5%, the state statistics bureau said. The issue of local government debt also remained under control, the National Bureau of Statistics said at a briefing organised by the foreign ministry that may have been aimed at allaying global concern about China’s slowdown. Beijing has said it is willing tolerate slower growth as it pushes reforms designed to reduce pollution, social inequity and an economic growth model which has an overreliance on debt financed construction and exports. (Reuters)

China Suspended PMI Details Over Accuracy Concerns, Bureau Says. China suspended the release of industry-specific data from a purchasing managers’ index for manufacturing because of accuracy concerns, the National Bureau of Statistics said. “We can’t ensure all industry-specific data can reach accuracy requirements,” Sheng Laiyun, a statistics agency official, said. “Samples in some industries are very small, and accidental changes may affect overall data quality -- we were concerned that some of the numbers may affect related investors and users.” That halt underscored concerns over China’s economic statistics, from exports inflated by false invoicing to a national unemployment rate that excludes the nation’s millions of migrant workers. (Bloomberg)

USA

Durable-Goods Drop Imperils Outlook For U.S. GDP Pickup. Orders for durable goods dropped in July by the most in almost a year, calling into question the strength of the projected pickup in U.S. growth. Bookings for goods meant to last at least three years fell 7.3%, the first decrease in four months and the biggest since August 2012, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The retreat was broad-based, with demand excluding the volatile transportation category unexpectedly falling. (Bloomberg)

Obama Administration Sees Mid-October Default Deadline. The Obama administration warned Congress on Monday that the United States could run out of money to pay its bills soon after mid-October if lawmakers do not move swiftly to raise a limit on government borrowing. "Congress should act as soon as possible to protect America's good credit," Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a letter to congressional leaders, urging action "well before any risk of default becomes imminent." The government has been scraping up against its $16.7 trillion debt limit since May, but has avoid defaulting on any of its obligations by employing a number of emergency measures to manage its cash, like suspending investments in pension funds for federal workers. (Reuters)

Europe

Govts Told Not To Rely On ECB To Solve Crisis. European Central Bank Governing Council member Jens Weidmann urged governments not to rely on the ECB to solve their problems, saying it would do best by sticking to its mandate. Weidmann, who is also the president of the Bundesbank, also called for a cap on banks’ sovereign bond holdings and a sufficient capital backing to help disentangle the close relationship between states and banks. “It is not a secret that I see specifically the government bond purchase programmes in a critical fashion,” he said. (Reuters)

Greece 'May Renegotiate Rescue Loans'. Greece may seek to ease its debt burden by renegotiating its bailout terms, the Greek finance minister said on Monday. Yannis Stournaras told German newspaper Handelsblatt this could involve lower interest payments and more time to repay 240bn euros in loans. It comes a day after he conceded that Greece may face a hole in its finances of up to 10bn euros. Speculation over Athens' borrowing needs comes at a sensitive time, with German elections due in September. (BBC)

Currencies

Dollar Seesaws As Business Orders Take A Hit. The U.S. dollar seesawed against major counterparts in quiet trade Monday after a steeper-than-expected fall in orders for durable goods. The ICE dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six others, fell to a low of 81.27 just before 9 a.m. Eastern, according to FactSet data, compared to its intraday high of 81.51 around 8 a.m. Eastern. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar bought ¥98.68, more than ¥98.64 late Friday. The euro traded at $1.3369, lower than $1.3383. In other currency action Monday, the Australian dollar fell to 90.24 U.S. cents from 90.28 U.S. cents late Friday. The British pound traded at $1.5570 versus Friday’s level at $1.5564. (Market Watch)

Commodities

Brent Rises Above $111 On Syria, U.S. Data. Brent crude extended gains above $111 a barrel on Monday to a near five-month high as rising tensions over a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria added to concerns of increased unrest in the Middle East that could disrupt supply. Brent crude for October touched $111.68, the highest since April 2 and was at $111.20 a barrel, up 16 cents, by 0141 GMT. U.S. crude for October delivery rose 46 cents to $106.88 after a 1 % drop last week. (Reuters)

Gold Breaks Above $1,400 On Weak U.S. Durable Goods Data. Gold prices rose to an 11-week high on Monday after a surprisingly weak report on U.S. durable goods boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve will maintain its bond-buying to prolong economic stimulus. Spot gold edged up 0.3 % to stand at $1,400.61 an ounce at 3:38 PM EDT (1938 GMT), having earlier peaked at $1,406.10. Among other precious metals, silver rose 1 % to $24.22 an ounce. Platinum was up 0.6 % to $1,542.49 an ounce, while palladium fell 0.7 % to $743.72 an ounce. (Reuters)