Malaysia

· Malaysia’s Nov 2014 Exports Up 2.1%. Exports in November exceeded expectations and rebounded by 2.1% after falling by 3.1% in October. Consensus had predicted a 0.7% contraction. This is partly attributed to large shipments of E&E products, to fulfil increased demand towards the year-end holidays and festivities. Imports in November however, grew below expectations, gaining just 0.1% YoY from a consensus estimate of 8.3%. As a result of stronger exports, trade surplus widened to RM11.1b from RM1.2b. Despite this improvement, growth uncertainties are still very much prevalent that irrespective of year-end demand, the slower-than-expected rebound from major economies and weaker-than-estimated 3Q14 growth will end up mitigating an upside effects in the 4Q14. We are looking at the 4Q14 GDP growth to decelerate further to 5.1% (3Q14: 5.6%), thus bringing about to a full year growth of 5.8% (2013: 4.7) (Please refer to Economic Viewpoint for more comments)

· Car Sales To Grow By 3.15% This Year. Malaysia’s car sales are expected to grow by 3.15% to 685,950 units year-onyear for 2015, said Frost & Sullivan. Its senior partner, Kavan Mukhtyar, said the decline in fuel prices would lead to higher car sales in the first quarter of this year. He said sales of both national and non-national cars for 2014 were expected to be at 665,000 units. For the national car market segment, Mukhtyar expected the 53.2% market share for this year to be same as 2014’s. (Bernama)

· Malaysian Palm Oil Price Hits Highest In Over 2 Mths On Weak Ringgit, Flood Worries. Malaysian palm oil futures climbed to their highest in over two months on Wednesday as the ringgit continued its tumble against the U.S. dollar, with prices also buoyed by fears that a fresh wave of monsoon flooding would squeeze supplies. The Malaysian currency dropped as much as 0.8% to 3.5850 against the greenback, its weakest in 5-1/2 years. A weaker ringgit makes the ringgitpriced feedstock cheaper for foreign investors. The benchmark March contract closed up 2.1% at RM2,331 ($651) per tonne, after rising as much as RM2,335 in late trade, the highest since Nov. 3. Total traded volume stood at 54,901 lots of 25 tonnes, much higher than the usual average of 35,000 lots. (Reuters)

U.S.A.

· Trade, Employment Data Boost U.S. Economy's Fundamentals. The U.S. trade deficit fell to an 11-month low in November as declining crude oil prices curbed the import bill, prompting economists to sharply raise their growth estimates for fourth-quarter growth. The Commerce Department said the trade gap narrowed 7.7% to $39b, the smallest since December 2013. The inflation-adjusted trade deficit fell to $47.8b from $50.1b in October, prompting economists to raise fourth-quarter gross domestic product estimates by as much as 0.8%age point to as high as a 3.5% annualized pace. The firming labor market was underscored by the ADP National Employment Report, which showed private payrolls increased 241,000 in December after rising 227,000 in November. (Reuters)

· U.S. Private Job Growth Accelerates In December: ADP. U.S. private employers added 241,000 jobs in December, beating the median forecasts of analysts and bringing their annual hiring to 2.5 million for 2014, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday. December's private job gain was broad based despite concerns about downsizing at oilrelated companies that have seen a dramatic fall in crude prices to 5-1/2 year lows on Tuesday. (Reuters)

Europe

· Euro Zone Prices Fall More Than Expected In December, Likely To Trigger ECB Action. Euro zone consumer prices fell by more than expected in December because of much cheaper energy, a first estimate by the European statistic office showed in data that is likely to trigger the European Central Bank's government bond buying program. Eurostat said inflation in the 18 countries using the euro in December was -0.2% year-on-year, down from 0.3% year-on-year in November. The last time euro zone inflation was negative was in October 2009, when it was -0.1%. (Reuters)

· UK New Car Sales Surge To 10-Year High In 2014. New UK car sales hit a 10-year high in 2014, boosted by confidence in the economic recovery, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has said. In total, 2.47 million new cars were registered last year, up 9% on 2013 and the best annual performance since 2004. Sales rose each month last year, with December's rise representing the 34th consecutive monthly jump. (BBC)

· Unemployment At Record Low In Germany, Record High In Italy. Germany's unemployment rate dropped to a record low of 6.5% in December while Italy's pushed up to a new high of 13.4%, underscoring the vast differences within the struggling euro zone economy. The German jobless rate fell from 6.6% in November to its lowest since German reunification in 1990. The rate had been forecast to hold steady. In Italy, on the other hand, the unemployment rate in November hit its highest since the statistics office began reporting the series in 1977, reflecting the impact of the third recession to hit the country since 2008. The low unemployment rate also makes Germany the envy of Portugal, where the jobless rate climbed to 13.9% in November, and Greece and Spain, where around a quarter of the population are still out of work. (Reuters)

Currencies

· Euro Rises Off 9-Year Low, But Remains Weak. The euro moved off a nine-year low reached Wednesday morning as bargain-driven investors scooped up the currency at its lows. The euro has been falling against the dollar for the past six sessions as investors worry about the outcome of Greece’s general election later this month. In recent trade, the euro was worth $1.183, slightly above a 9-year low of $1.180 reached earlier in Wednesday’s session. The yen also weakened against the dollar in early North American trade, continuing a trend that began in the Asia trading day. The yen traded at 119.20, compared to 118.71 Tuesday. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a tradeweighted basket of six currencies, was up 0.61% on the day to 92.0540, slightly below a nine-year high reached earlier in the session. The krone traded at 7.70 to the dollar Wednesday afternoon. It traded at 7.74 to the dollar Tuesday afternoon. (Marketwatch)

Commodities

· Oil Snaps 4-Day Losing Streak After U.S. Crude Stockpiles Drop. Oil closed up on Wednesday for the first time in five days as traders took stock of the market's rout after crude prices lost nearly 10% over two days and benchmark Brent fell to below $50 a barrel. Weekly data for U.S. crude inventories showed a surprising drop last week, helping oil reverse early losses, although gasoline and distillates stocks jumped by record levels. Brent's front-month contract settled at $51.15 a barrel, up 5 cents from Tuesday's close. It hit a session low of $49.66 in European trade, after euro zone consumer prices in December fell by more than expected. U.S. crude settled up 72 cents at $48.65, after rallying earlier to $49.31. Brent's premium to U.S. crude CL-LCO1=R narrowed to $2.50, its lowest since mid-October. (Reuters)

· Gold Dips On Strong Dollar; Holds Losses After Fed Minutes. Gold eased on Wednesday, ending a three-day winning streak, as the dollar and equities strengthened and minutes from the Federal Reserve's policy meeting in December showed the U.S. central bank maintaining the status quo on interest rates. The minutes contained few surprises, with policy makers pressing ahead with plans to begin raising rates this year after a debate on how to communicate their intentions. Spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,215.93 an ounce at 3:22 p.m. EDT (2022 GMT) after jumping to its highest since Dec. 15 at $1,222.40 in the previous session as equities fell on concerns over Greece's future in the euro zone. Silver reversed earlier losses to trade up 0.2% at $16.65 an ounce, while platinum was up 0.3% at $1,227 an ounce and palladium was down 1.4% to $795.02 an ounce. (Reuters)