Asia

Japan Output Gap Widens In Blow To BOJ Inflation Target. Japan's output gap widened in July-September as the economy slipped into recession, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday, highlighting the difficulty the Bank of Japan faces in guiding inflation to a 2% target. The output gap was minus 2.7% in the third quarter, more than minus 2.2% in the previous quarter, the Cabinet Office said. A negative output gap - or the difference between actual and potential gross domestic product - suggests that output is less than what the country can produce at full capacity, which is a sign of weak demand and deflationary pressure. (Reuters)

Thai Consumer Confidence Index Falls In November. Consumer confidence in Thailand fell in November, a university survey showed on Thursday, in spite of low inflation and moves by the military government to try to boost the economy. The consumer confidence index of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce dropped to 79.4 in November from 80.1 in October. The slip was the second since a bloodless army coup on May 22 ended months of political unrest. For September, the index was 79.2, compared with the previous month's 80.1. (Reuters)

USA

Jobless Claims In U.S. Decrease As Employers Retain Staff. Fewer Americans filed applications for unemployment benefits last week as employers retained staff to meet domestic demand for goods and services ahead of the holiday season. Jobless claims decreased by 17,000 to 297,000 in the week ended Nov. 29 from 314,000 in the prior period, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The median forecast of 46 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a decline to 295,000. (Bloomberg)

Job Creation At U.S. Small Businesses Modest In November. Fewer small businesses added workers in November but the average gain per firm rose slightly and an increasing number of firms anticipated stepping up hiring in the future, a survey released on Thursday showed. The National Federation of Independent Business said a survey of 615 of its members found only a net 2% of firms added workers over the latest period, down a point from October. The average increase per firm, however, rose to 0.05 from zero. NFIB said 24% of the businesses reported job openings they could not fill, a historically high number that was unchanged from October. (Reuters)

Europe

Draghi Inches Toward Stimulus Next Year As ECB Cuts Outlook. Mario Draghi dragged the European Central Bank toward more monetary stimulus with a pledge to assess the need early next year, disappointing some investors seeking faster action. Even as he unveiled “substantially” lower forecasts for euro-area inflation and economic growth, the ECB president said officials will wait to evaluate whether they’re doing enough to revive the weakest consumer-price growth in five years. They are already intensifying preparations for further measures, including studying the merits of buying government debt. The ECB now forecasts inflation of 0.5% this year and 0.7% in 2015, with the economy expanding 0.8% in 2014 and 1% next year. A year ago it was predicting inflation and growth of 1.1% for 2014 and as recently as September it expected growth of 1.6% for 2015. (Bloomberg)

ECB's Draghi Concerns About Some Impacts Of Lower Oil Price On Euro Zone Economy. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Thursday the falling price of oil would have mixed impact on the euro zone, boosting the economy by removing costs but also dragging down already-weak inflation. He expressed concern that the lower price might become "embedded" in lower wages. The estimate for the direct and indirect impact of falling oil in inflation was 0.4% next year and 0.1% the year after. "Oil prices have an obvious direct impact on the price of energy and on that ground, the effect is unambiguously positive," Draghi told a news conference. (Reuters)

UK Interest Rates Stay On Hold Again. UK interest rates have been held at a record low of 0.5% for another month by the Bank of England. It also decided to maintain its quantitative easing programme, designed to stimulate lending in the economy, at the £375bn already spent. The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee has held rates at 0.5% since March 2009 to try to help economic recovery. Until recently rates were expected to rise early next year, but analysts now think this could be pushed back. The Bank warned last month that the inflation rate could fall to as low as 1% in the coming six months, well below its 2% target rate. (BBC)

French Jobless Rate Heads Back To 2013 Peak. France's unemployment rate jumped back in the third quarter to its 2013 peak, compounding the woes of the unpopular government struggling to pull the euro zone's second-largest economy out of stagnation. The jobless rate rose to 10.4% in the third quarter, back to its level the second quarter of 2013 - a rate last seen 16 years ago. It was the strongest rise in nearly two years and hit youths hardest, with nearly one in four out of a job. (Reuters)

Currencies

Ringgit Sentiment Worst Since 2008 Crisis. Short positions in Malaysia's ringgit reached their largest since the 2008-09 global financial crisis over the past two weeks as investor sentiment towards most emerging Asian currencies remained pessimistic, a Reuters poll found on Thursday. Bearish bets on the ringgit rose to their highest since September 2008, according to the survey of 16 currency analysts and traders conducted between Tuesday and Thursday. The ringgit fell to 3.4475 per dollar on Thursday, its weakest since February 2010, on sustained concerns that lower oil prices may hurt economic fundamentals of Malaysia, a net oil exporter. Emerging Asian currencies lost ground as the dollar rose to its highest since March 2009 against a basket of six major currencies on solid U.S. economic data. (Reuters)

Euro Pares Gains After Reports That ECB Is Considering QE. The euro pared its earlier gains against the dollar Thursday after reports surfaced that the European Central Bank is considering a broad-based stimulus plan that will likely include sovereign debt purchases. The euro traded at $1.2384 Thursday afternoon, down from its session high of $1.2456, but above its level of $1.2315 late Wednesday. Investors took profits after the dollar hit 120 yen, its highest level against the yen since July 2007, driving the dollar back to ¥119.76. It traded at ¥119.85 late Wednesday. The pound eventually settled at $1.5676, around its Wednesday-afternoon level. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index a measure of the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, ended the North American session down 0.38% to 88.6150, its lowest level in two days. (Market Watch)

Commodities

Oil Drops Again On Saudi Price Cut; Brent Below $70. Oil ended lower on Thursday as the debate over pricing continued after Saudi Arabia announced deep discounts for the crude it sells Asian and U.S. buyers in an apparent attempt to defend market share. Crude's benchmark North Sea Brent settled down 28 cents at $69.64 a barrel, after trading in a band of nearly $2. U.S. crude finished down 57 cents at $66.81, having fallen to 66.09 earlier. (Reuters)

Gold Pares Losses As ECB Statement Sparks Euro Rebound. Gold pared losses on Thursday as the euro rebounded against the dollar after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said the bank would reevaluate the case for more stimulus next year, but remained under pressure ahead of key U.S. data on Friday. Spot gold was at $1,206.87 an ounce by 2:47 p.m. EST (1947 GMT), down 0.2% but off an earlier low of $1,201.07, while U.S. gold futures for December settled down $1.00 at $1,207.70. The euro bounced from a 28-month low to rise 0.3%. Among other precious metals, spot silver was up 0.7% at $16.51 an ounce. Spot platinum was up 1.3% at $1,233.20 an ounce, while spot palladium was up 0.5% at $797.00 an ounce. (Reuters)