Malaysia

Exports In September Increased By 2.0% YoY, after gaining 1.7% previously. However, this was below market expectations for a 3.4% rise. Most of the gain came from strong demand from the USA and even Europe but was mitigated by weakness from China and Japan. Nevertheless, the exports of Electronic and Electrical (E&E) goods remained robust despite an overall weaker demand. Imports moderated to 1.1% YoY, after gaining 7.6% previous. This was far below market polls of 9.1%. As a result of stronger exports, trade surplus widened to RM9.3b from RM3.9b. (Please refer to Economic Viewpoint for further comments)

Asia

China Exports Bolster Economy As External Demand Strengthens. China’s exports rose more than estimated in October, signaling foreign demand may help sustain an economy forecast to grow at the slowest pace since 1990. Overseas shipments increased 11.6% from a year earlier, exceeding the 10.6% median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of analysts. Imports rose 4.6%, compared with projections of 5%, leaving a trade surplus of $45.4b, the customs administration said today. (Bloomberg)

Xi Dangles $1.25 Trillion As China Counters U.S. Refocus. President Xi Jinping sought to counter U.S. efforts aimed at boosting influence in Asia by flexing China’s economic muscle days before a Beijing summit with his counterpart Barack Obama. Speaking to executives at a CEO gathering in Beijing, Xi outlined how much the world stands to gain from a rising China. He said outbound investment will total $1.25 trillion over the next 10 years, 500 million Chinese tourists will go abroad, and the government will spend $40b to revive the ancient Silk Road trade route between Asia and Europe. (Bloomberg)

China's Economic Risks 'Not Scary' - President Xi Jinping. The risks facing China's economy are not "scary", President Xi Jinping has told global business leaders. In a speech to chief executives ahead of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit he sought to dispel concerns about the economy. "There are indeed risks (to growth), but it's not so scary," he said. China also announced a deepening of its energy ties with Russia, with the countries agreeing a major new gas pipeline linking the two nations. Apec is expected to be the venue to announce several international deals among Asia-Pacific nations. But Mr Xi pointed out that even if China's economy were to grow by 7%, that would still rank it at the forefront of the world's economies. He said the economy remained "stable". (BBC)

Indonesia: Govt To Offer US$52b Infrastructure Projects. The Indonesian government plans to offer 43 infrastructure projects worth US$52b to private investors next year, according to an official of the National Development Planning Ministry. Bastari Panji Indra, a director at the ministry, said the projects will be offered under public-private partnership (PPP) schemes. The projects offered include airports, monorail, light rail transits (LRT), toll roads, coal transportation trains, ports, and water supply. (NST)

Philippine Central Bank Sees Steps Cooling Property Risk. Steps taken this year by the Philippine central bank will be enough to damp risk in the domestic property sector, the Southeast Asian country’s chief monetary official said, after land prices exceeded a 1997 high. Measures to tighten policy and cool the real estate sector have provided banks with “clear enough guidance to help them better appreciate the risks of their lending activities,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco said in an e-mailed response to reporters’ questions. He cited a new credit-risk management framework, property stress tests for banks and an expanded definition of lenders’ investments. Policy makers also raised the benchmark interest rate twice this year, to 4% from a record-low 3.5%. (Bloomberg)

USA

U.S. Labor Market Tightens, But Wages Still Anemic. U.S. job growth increased at a steady clip in October and the unemployment rate fell to a fresh six-year low, underscoring the economy's resilience in the face of slowing global demand. Despite the strengthening labor market, wage growth remained tepid, suggesting

little need for the Federal Reserve to hurry to start lifting interest rates. Employers added 214,000 new jobs to their payrolls last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. The unemployment rate fell to 5.8% from 5.9%, even as more people entered the labor force - a further sign of strength. In the United States, the labor force participation rate, or the share of working-age Americans who are employed or at least looking for a job, increased by one-tenth of percentage point to 62.8% after two straight months of declines. Average hourly earnings rose only three cents last month, leaving the year-on-year increase at 2.0%, the level it has been around for the last few years. The muted wage growth partly reflects the types of jobs being created. In October, about a fifth of the new jobs were in the food services sector. (Reuters)

Europe

German Trade Surge Eases Recession Fears. German exports and industrial output rebounded in September after sharp falls in the prior month, likely helping Europe's largest economy to avoid falling into recession in the third quarter. Exports surged 5.5% on the month, bouncing back from a fall of 5.8% in August – the largest drop in more than five years – and imports pushed up 5.4% after two consecutive months of decline. Taken together with industrial production data, which showed a 1.4% rise in September, economists said the figures pointed to a small amount of gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the third quarter. In the second quarter, the economy contracted by 0.2%. (Reuters)

Yellen Message To Europeans Divided On QE: Do Whatever It Takes. Janet Yellen has a message for European central bankers struggling to decide whether more bond purchases are needed to stave off deflation: Do whatever it takes. “Central banks need to be prepared to employ all available tools, including unconventional policies, to support economic growth and reach their inflation targets,” Federal Reserve Chair Yellen said in the text to be delivered today at a Bank of France event in Paris. Yellen spoke as European Central Bank officials appeared divided over how far they should go in pursuing bond purchases. ECB President Mario Draghi said he intends to boost the bank’s balance sheet back toward March 2012 levels, or about 1 trillion euros ($1.24 trillion) larger than today. (Bloomberg)

Currencies

Dollar Index Finishes Higher For Third Week In A Row. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index finished higher for the third week in a row Friday, boosted by gains against the euro, pound and yen that pushed greenback rise to multi-year highs. The index a measure of the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.49% on the day to 87.5840. It was at 88.0120 late Thursday. The euro traded at $1.2459 Friday afternoon after falling to $1.2355, its lowest point against the dollar in more than two years, after the jobs data. It traded at $1.2381 late Thursday. The pound traded at $1.5880, compared with $1.5843 late Thursday. The dollar settled lower Friday after rising to a seven-year high during the Asia trading day. It traded at 114.55 yen Friday, compared with ¥115.16 late Thursday. (Market Watch)

Commodities

U.S. Oil Hits Longest Weekly Losing Streak Since 1998. U.S. crude climbed less than a dollar on Friday but finished down more than 2% for the week, marking the first time the benchmark has fallen for six straight weeks since December 1998. The Friday rally was driven in part by geopolitical tremors in Ukraine and the dollar backing off of its four-year high. Brent crude futures settled up 53 cents at $83.39 per barrel on Friday but declined nearly 3% for the week, the seventh straight week down. The last time Brent fell for seven straight weeks ended in November 2002. The benchmark hit a four year intraday low of $81.63 on Wednesday, down from a high above $115 in June. U.S. crude settled up 74 cents per barrel for the day at $78.65. (Reuters)

Gold Rebounds 2.6 Pct From 4-1/2-Year Low After U.S. Jobs Data. Gold rose 2.6% on Friday, its biggest one-day gain in nearly five months, as a retreat in the U.S. dollar and heavy short-covering lifted bullion from a 4-1/2-year low. Spot gold was up 2.6% at $1,170.10 an ounce by 3:03 p.m. EST (2003 GMT). For the week, gold was down 0.3%, extending the previous week's near 5% drop. Silver climbed 1.8% to $15.65 an ounce after hitting the lowest since February 2010 at $15.03. Silver has been the worst-performing precious metal this week, down around 3%. Palladium gained 3.1% to $770.25 an ounce, while platinum was up 1.9% at $1,209.75 an ounce, rebounding from an earlier five-year low of $1,181.50. (Reuters)