Malaysia

 Capital Controls A Last Resort, Says PM. Malaysia will not impose capital controls for now but will use other existing financial instruments to offset any market volatility. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said capital controls will only be used as a last resort. "Most of our debts currently are domestic, especially the long-term ones, and our reserves are strong at over US$130 billion (RM410 billion) and the ringgit has also strengthened recently. "We are on solid ground and the chances of us defaulting on our debts are minimum," he said in an interview with CNBC's anchor Martin Soong during the CNBC Summit Conference Malaysia 2013, here, yesterday. (Business Times)

Asia

 Trade Deficit Widens On Back Of Rising Imports. Japan’s trade deficit swelled to a larger-than-forecast ¥960.3 billion in August, the 14th consecutive month of red ink, as imports outpaced growth in exports, customs data showed Thursday. Boosted by higher fuel costs exacerbated by the weakened yen, imports jumped 16 % from a year earlier to ¥6.74 trillion while exports climbed 14.7 % to ¥5.78 trillion. The deficit was nearly 25 % higher than the ¥768.4 billion gap logged in August 2012. Economists had forecast the deficit at around ¥600 billion for the reporting month. (AP)

USA

 Jobless Claims In U.S. Increase Less Than Forecast. Jobless claims in the U.S. rose less than forecast last week as two states began working through a backlog of applications that were caused by computer-system changeovers. Applications for unemployment benefits climbed by 15,000 to 309,000 in the week ended Sept. 14 from a revised 294,000 in the prior period, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 53 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an increase to 330,000. A Labor Department spokesman said it could be a week or two before the state employment agencies are able to catch up on applications. (Bloomberg)

 Home Sales Climb As Americans Rush To Lock In Rates. Sales of previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly rose in August to the highest level in more than six years as buyers rushed to lock in interest rates before they increased further. Purchases climbed 1.7 % to a 5.48 million annual rate, the most since February 2007, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 79 economists in a Bloomberg survey called for 5.25 million. Other figures showed Philadelphia-area manufacturing expanded at the strongest pace since March 2011. (Bloomberg)

 Current-Account Deficit In U.S. Narrowed 5.7% In Second Quarter. The current-account deficit in the U.S. narrowed in the second quarter to the lowest in almost four years, helped by a pickup in exports and a bigger income surplus. The gap, the broadest measure of international trade because it includes income payments and government transfers, shrank 5.7 % to $98.9 billion, the smallest since the third quarter of 2009, from a revised $104.9 billion shortfall in the prior period, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg survey called for the deficit to shrink to $97 billion. (Bloomberg)

Europe

 UK Retail Sales In Surprise August Fall. Retail sales volumes fell unexpectedly by 0.9% in August according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), but separate surveys brought better news from the manufacturing sector. The retail sales data was a surprise for analysts who had expected a rise of around 0.4%. The ONS said consumers reined in spending, particularly on food, compared with July. (BBC)

 Ireland Exits Recession As Economy Grows. The Irish Republic's economy has emerged from recession, according to official figures. The economy grew by 0.4% in the second quarter of the year, although this was much weaker than many economists had forecast. Economists had expected growth of at least 0.8%. Ireland, which was bailed out after its banking and property crisis, has suffered a number of recessions in recent years. The government has projected growth of 1.3% for 2013 as a whole. (BBC)

 Greek Finance Minister Sees Signs Of Economic Recovery. The Greek finance minister has said his country's economy is heading "slowly towards recovery" after it saw growth in the second quarter of the year. Yannis Stournaras said available evidence suggested Greece will see quarter-on-quarter growth for the first time since its economic crisis began. But he stopped short of saying Greece was out of its six-year recession. Mr Stournaras said that, overall, he expected the Greek economy to shrink by up to 3.8% this year. That is more optimistic than the 4.2% contraction forecast by Greece's international lenders, and a significant improvement on 2012, when the economy shrank by 6.4%. (BBC)

Currencies

 Dollar Off Lows But Still ‘Reeling’ From Fed. The dollar recovered slightly against most major rivals Thursday, but still looked bruised following the beating it took after the Federal Reserve maintained its pace of monetary stimulus. The British pound fell to $1.6029 from $1.6149 the prior day. Sterling on Wednesday surged above $1.61 to reach levels not seen since January, according to FactSet. The euro bought $1.3527, near $1.3533 late Wednesday. The ICE dollar index, a measure of the U.S. currency against six rivals, rose to 80.377 from 80.081 on Wednesday, when it tumbled to its lowest level in seven months. The dollar bought 99.40 yen recently, up from ¥97.86 late Wednesday. In other action, the Australian dollar fetched 94.45 U.S. cents recently, a pullback from 95.18 U.S. cents late Wednesday. The dollar tumbled to a one-month low against the rupee, fetching 62.182 rupees in recent trade compared with 63.58 rupees late Wednesday. That’s the lowest level since August 16, according to FactSet. The dollar slumped 1.6% to 11,277 rupiah from 11,460 rupiah the prior day. (Market Watch)

Commodities

 Oil Tumbles As Libya Output Rises, Iran Tensions Ease. Oil fell sharply on Thursday after a bout of buying to cover short positions ended and traders refocused on increased Libyan production and dwindling geopolitical concerns about Iran. November Brent crude settled 1.66 % lower, or $1.84 per barrel lower at $108.76. Losses deepened in a heavy bout of morning trading that sent prices down $1 in 30 minutes. October U.S. crude, which expires on Friday, slid 1.55 % and settled $1.68 per barrel lower at $106.39. (Reuters)

 Gold Rises On Technicals, Short-Covering After Fed Move. Gold rose to one-week highs on Thursday, extending the previous session's 4.2 % rally, lifted by technical buying and short-covering a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve's unexpected decision to continue buying bonds. Spot gold hit its highest level since Sept. 10 at $1,374.54. It last traded at $1,368.46 an ounce, up 0.3 % by 3:41 p.m. EDT (1941 GMT). Among other precious metals, silver rose 1.2 % to $23.15 an ounce, having rallied around 6.5 % on Wednesday, its biggest one-day gain since November 2008. Platinum was down 0.3 % at $1,458.80, while palladium rose 1.9 % to $730.59 an ounce. (Reuters)

Source: Kenanga