Asia

 Japan Still Upbeat On Economy. Japan’s government has upgraded its view on factory output while leaving its overall economic assessment unchanged, sounding upbeat on the world’s third-largest economy. The government, in its monthly report, described the economy as “moderately recovering,” echoing a similar view last week by the Bank of Japan (BoJ). Policymakers are confident of a spurt of last-minute demand ahead of a sales tax increase in April. But the report flagged risks to the outlook such as the expected drop in consumption after the tax hike and a slowdown in the global economy, which could pressure exports. (Reuters)

 Vietnam To Lower Key Policy Rates To Support Economic Growth. Vietnam will cut its key policy rates from tomorrow, as the government tries to support businesses and bolster a struggling economy. Stocks rose. The discount rate will be cut to 4.5 % from 5 %, and the repurchase rate will be lowered to 5 % from 5.5 %, the central bank’s monetary policy head Nguyen Thi Hong said at a briefing in Hanoi today. The refinancing rate will be reduced to 6.5 % from 7 %. (Bloomberg)

USA

 Factory Output In U.S. Rises Most In Six Months. Factory production rose in February by the most in six months, showing manufacturing will help the U.S. economy emerge from a weather-related setback. The 0.8 % gain exceeded the highest estimate in a Bloomberg survey and followed a revised 0.9 % slump in January, figures from the Federal Reserve in Washington showed today. The pickup contrasts with the housing industry, where another report showed builder sentiment rose less than forecast in March. (Bloomberg)

 Employment Decreased In Majority Of U.S. States In January. Payrolls decreased in 27 U.S. states in January, showing a slowdown in job growth extended throughout much of the country. California led the nation with a 31,500 drop in payrolls for the month, followed by Illinois with a loss of 27,600 jobs, figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington. At the same time, the unemployment rate fell throughout the country as 43 states posted decreases. (Bloomberg)

Europe

 Eurozone Inflation Falls To 0.7% In February. Inflation in the euro area fell to 0.7% in February, down from 0.8% in January, revised figures have shown. The Eurostat estimate puts the inflation rate well below the European Central Bank target of just below 2%. The lower rate may reinforce concerns that the 18-nation eurozone risks a damaging period of deflation. However, the European Central Bank (ECB) is confident that eurozone economies are recovering from recession. The ECB expects inflation to gradually increase to 1% in 2014, before reaching its target 2% in 2016. (BBC)

Currencies

 Euro Jumps; Dollar Rises Against Yen. The euro rose against the dollar Monday as investors appeared to shrug off a downward revision in the region’s inflation rate that put the 18-nation bloc even further away from its inflation target. The euro rose to $1.3927 from $1.3910 late Friday. The dollar bought 36.2865 rubles from 36.5625 rubles in the prior session. The ICE dollar index, a gauge of the currency’s strength, edged down to 79.363 from 79.406. The dollar rose to 101.71 yen from ¥101.40 late Friday. The British pound fell to $1.6639 from $1.6648 late Friday. The Australian dollar rose to 90.89 U.S. cents from 90.32 U.S. cents. (Market Watch)

Commodities

 Brent Oil Falls $2 As Crimea Threat Eases, Global Demand Wanes. Brent oil futures fell more than $2 per barrel on Monday to near six-week lows, as ample global supplies outweighed concerns over continued tensions between Russia and the West over the fate of Crimea. Brent crude futures fell by $2.05 to an intra-session low of $106.16, their lowest point since Feb. 6. The European benchmark settled $1.97 lower at $106.24 per barrel. U.S. crude futures fell by as much as $1.52 to a session low of $97.37 per barrel before settling 81 cents down at $98.08 per barrel. (Reuters)

 Gold Drops As Rising US Equities Trigger Profit-Taking. Gold prices fell on Monday as a sharp rally in U.S. equities triggered profit-taking after bullion briefly rose to a six-month high earlier in the day. Spot gold was down 0.8 % at $1,371.14 an ounce by 1:57 p.m. EST (1757 GMT), having earlier hit its highest since Sept. 9 at $1,391.76. Among other precious metals, silver fell 1 % to $21.23 an ounce. Platinum edged up 20 cents at $1,462 an ounce, while palladium rose 0.7 % to $772 an ounce. (Reuters) 

Source: Kenanga