Asia

Japan's Trade Deficit Quadruples In March. Japan's trade deficit quadrupled in March as export growth slowed and energy imports continued to rise. A weak Japanese currency, which pushed up the cost of imports, also contributed to the widening gap. The deficit rose to 1.45 trillion yen ($14bn), up from 356.9bn yen during the same month a year ago. Japan's energy imports have been rising after it shut all its nuclear reactors in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Japan's overall imports rose 18.1% in March, compared to a year ago, while exports rose at an annual rate of 1.8%. (BBC)

Japan Overhauls Its Public Pension Fund, The World's Biggest. Japan overhauled the world's biggest public pension fund on Tuesday, appointing new committee members, in a push toward Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's goal of a more aggressive investment strategy. The government announced a reshuffle of the Investment Committee of the $1.26 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), in line with Abe's drive to have the fund make riskier investments and rely less on low-yielding government bonds. Global financial markets are keenly watching GPIF's investment strategy as the fund, bigger than Mexico's economy, is a huge investor and a bellwether for other Japanese institutional investors. (Reuters)

South Korea April 1-20 Exports Up 4.3 % Year/Year. South Korean exports rose 4.3 % for the first 20 days of April from the same year-ago period, customs agency data showed on Monday, slower than gains in March as global demand eased. Exports rose 8.2 % year-on-year for the first 20 days of March, and 5.1 % for the whole month. The April reading was higher, however than the 2.2 % rise in exports for the January-March quarter. South Korea is the world's seventh largest exporter and is the first major exporting economy to report foreign trade figures each month, providing an early clue . Exports for the April 1-20 period totalled $30.669 billion. Imports stood at $28.903 billion, a 3.2 % drop from a year ago, the data from the Korea Customs Service data showed. (Reuters)

USA

Leading Indicators Rise 0.8%, Inch Above Estimates. A measure of the U.S. economy's health rose in March for the third consecutive month, a sign of stronger growth after harsh winter weather caused the economy's pace to slow. The Conference Board says its index of leading indicators increased 0.8 % in March after a 0.5 % rise in February and modest 0.2 % gain in January. It was the best showing since a 0.9 % gain in November. Economists polled by Reuters were expecting a gain of 0.7 % in March. (AP)

Europe

German Growth To Slow After Strong First Quarter. German economic growth will slow in the second quarter after an unusually mild winter gave Europe's largest economy a boost in the first three months of 2014, the Finance Ministry monthly report said on Tuesday. The ministry said recent data suggested Germany had put in a "very strong" performance between January and March, adding that positive impetus likely came from industrial expansion and construction activity, which benefited from the mild winter. "But this technical effect should not be interpreted as a sign the economic pace slowing," the ministry said, adding that the upward trend of 'hard' economic data and optimism among firms about the future pointed to ongoing economic expansion. The government expects growth of 1.8 % this year thanks largely to a strong increase in private consumption as consumers benefit from a strong labor market, decent wages and moderate inflation while low interest rates discourage saving. (Reuters)

Currencies

Dollar Rises To Two-Week High Against Yen. The U.S. dollar rose to a two-week high against the Japanese yen Monday after Japan’s trade deficit expanded by more than expected last month. The dollar rose to ¥102.60 from ¥102.42 late Thursday. The ICE dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of six rivals, moved higher to 79.957 from 72.852 late Thursday. The euro fell to $1.3793 from $1.3815 late Thursday. The British pound rose to $1.6802 from $1.6790 late Thursday. The Australian dollar rose to 93.33 U.S. cents from 93.22 U.S. cents late Thursday. (Market Watch)

Commodities

Brent Dips Towards $109 After Steep Gains, Ukraine Supports. Brent futures dropped towards $109 a barrel on Monday as investors took profits after steep gains, but uncertainty surrounding the crisis in Ukraine checked the decline. Brent crude lost 40 cents to $109.13 a barrel by 0451 GMT, after rising to intraday highs of above $110 late last week, for the first time since early March. U.S. crude oil futures declined 16 cents to $104.14 a barrel. (Reuters)

Gold Falls As ETF Outflows Weigh; Palladium Tumbles. Gold prices fell to a nearly three-week low on Monday as sharp outflows from the world's biggest bullion-backed exchange-traded fund (ETF) and the lack of a further increase in geopolitical tension prompted selling. Spot gold was down 0.4 % at $1,288.72 an ounce at 3:17 p.m. EDT (1917 GMT), having earlier hit $1,281.40, less than $5 above a two-month low of $1,277.29. Silver slid in tandem with losses in gold and platinum group metals, falling 1.2 % to $19.36 an ounce. Among platinum group metals, platinum slipped 0.8 % to $1,393.30, while palladium dropped 2.1 % to $777.55 an ounce. (Reuters)