Asia

· China's Economic Planners Aim to Boost Service Exports. China has set a target of reaching $1 trillion worth of trade in services by the year 2020, according to a newly released economic planning policy paper that emphasized a shift away from the export of goods. The State Council, China's cabinet, said in a document released on Saturday that it would provide total policy support to raise the export value of services relative to goods. The document represented the first instance of China's government outlining an effort to boost service exports as a national strategy, according to a state television report on Saturday. "Our country's service exports have risen quickly in recent years but still lack competitiveness internationally," the State Council said in the paper dated January 28. The document targeted the expansion of financial services, communications and transportation into international markets as well as promoting tourism and the cultural export of media and "central Chinese values." (Reuters)

· China January Money Growth Slumps to Record Low, Fuels Policy Loosening Bets. China's growth in broad money supply slumped to its lowest on record in January even as new yuan loans hit a 5-1/2-year high, boosting bets that Beijing may further loosen monetary policy to avert a sharper economic slowdown. The broad M2 money supply measure in January rose just 10.8% from a year earlier, central bank data showed on Friday, the weakest pace since records started in 1998 and well under a 12.1% forecast. That was even as new yuan loans surged to 1.47 trillion yuan ($235.6 billion), trumping market expectations for 1.35 trillion yuan, and more than doubling December's 697.3 billion yuan. "The slower M2 growth could be largely attributed to the capital outflows as Chinese corporates are unwinding the U.S. dollar liabilities," ANZ economists said in a note to clients. (Reuters)

· South Korea January Exports Revised Down to 0.7% Fall. South Korean exports in January slipped 0.7% from a year earlier, revised customs data showed on Friday, slightly weaker than a preliminary 0.4% decline reported earlier. Shipments to the United States were revised down to a 14.8% gain from a 15.2% rise estimated earlier. Exports to China rose 5.3% whereas sales to the European Union fell 23.0%, both unchanged from the preliminary data. The revised data put January's average exports per working day at $1.92 billion, edging down from $1.93 billion estimated earlier in the month. (Reuters)

· Indonesia's Q4 Current Account Deficit Narrows to 2.81% of GDP. Indonesia's current account deficit narrowed to 2.81% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the last quarter of 2014 from a revised 2.99% in July-September, a central bank official said on Friday. Previously, Indonesia reported the third-quarter deficit to be 3.07% of GDP. The current account gap in October-December was $6.2 billion, bringing the full-year 2014 deficit to $26.2 billion or 2.95% of GDP, said Hendy Sulistiowaty, Bank Indonesia's executive director of statistics. (Reuters)

 USA

· U.S. Consumer Sentiment Falls in February. U.S. consumer sentiment fell more than expected in February, dropping from an 11-year high on concerns about wage growth, a survey released on Friday showed. The University of Michigan's preliminary February reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment came in at 93.6, below the final January read of 98.1. It was below the median forecast of 98.1 among economists polled by Reuters. "Although confidence reversed the January gain, returning to the December level, the Sentiment Index was still higher than any other time since January 2007," said Richard Curtin, the survey's director. The survey's barometer of current economic conditions fell to 103.1 from 109.3, below a forecast of 110. (Reuters)

· Plosser Says Fed Can’t Wait for Wage Growth. The Federal Reserve cannot wait for wages to rise significantly before raising interest rates, Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser said Sunday. Mr. Plosser, who retires next month, said in a Fox News Channel interview that the U.S. economy is doing “remarkably well,” and he expects it to grow about 3% this year. Against that backdrop, he said, “wages will continue to drift up, they will continue to strengthen. But wage growth is a lagging indicator not a leading indicator.” Fed officials are debating when to start raising their benchmark short-term interest rate from near zero, where it has been since Dec. 2008.. One of the issues making some policymakers reluctant to push borrowing costs higher despite lower unemployment is low inflation, which has fallen short of the Fed’s 2% target for 32 consecutive months. (The Wall Street Journal)

Europe

· German economy Stuns with Unexpectedly Strong Growth in Fourth-Quarter. Germany grew by a much stronger than expected 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2014, with domestic demand lifting Europe's largest economy out of its mid-year lull to take growth for the whole year to 1.6% and raise hopes of a strong 2015. Quarterly GDP beat not only the consensus forecast for 0.3% in a Reuters poll, but also all individual estimates. The overall growth rate for 2014 overshot the Statistics Office's January estimate of 1.5%. "This is a thunderbolt. Economic recovery in Germany started much earlier than expected. Some spoke of possible recession after the summer but instead Germany rebounded. The fact that the growth comes mainly from the domestic economy gives strong grounds for optimism," said economist Andreas Rees at Unicredit "Compared to the previous quarter positive momentum came mostly from the domestic economy. Private households in particular increased spending again significantly," the Statistics Office said. (Reuters) the European Union's statistics office Eurostat showed that the economy of the 18 countries sharing the euro expanded 0.3% quarter-on-quarter in the Oct-Dec period after a 0.2% rise in the previous three months. Year-on-year, euro zone growth was 0.9% in the fourth quarter, from 0.8% in the third quarter, again higher than the expectation of a 0.8% rise. (Reuters)

Currencies

· Sterling Firmer in Sleepy Start to Holiday Week. Sterling scaled a six-week peak early on Monday following recent hawkish-sounding comments from the Bank of England, while the other major currencies were subdued in a holiday-riddled week. U.S. markets are shut on Monday for the Presidents' Day holiday, while many centres in Asia will be closed later this week for the Lunar New Year holidays. The pound climbed as far as $1.5435 in early trade, from around $1.5407 late on Friday in New York, reaching a high last seen on Jan. 2. It was last at $1.5415. Investors have been warming to sterling after relatively hawkish signals from the BoE recently. Both Governor Mark Carney and his deputy, Ben Broadbent, have said the next move in interest rates is likely to be up. For the euro, the focus remains on Greece and its negotiations to secure a new debt agreement with its euro zone partners. Without a clear outcome, there is little conviction to buy or sell the euro. As a result, the common currency has been drifting in a slim $1.1262-1.1534 range in the last few weeks. It was last flat at $1.1400. Against the yen, the euro was a touch softer at 135.00, off a three-week peak of 136.70 reached last Thursday. The dollar slipped to 118.51 yen, recoiling from a one-month high of 120.48 set last Wednesday. Among commodity currencies, the Canadian dollar fared well as the recent slump in oil showed signs of having bottomed out. On Friday, Brent crude hit a 2015 high above $60 a barrel. The loonie traded at C$1.2444 per USD, near a one-week high of C$1.2422 set on Friday. Its Australian peer was also firmer at $0.7773, holding above last week's trough of $0.7644. (Reuters)

 Commodities

· Oil Tops $60 for First Time in 2015; Oversupply Persists. Oil closed up for a second straight week on Friday after another drop in the U.S. rig count, and Brent crude hit a 2015 high above $60 a barrel, but market skeptics cautioned the rally could fade because supplies keep coming. Many traders and analysts believe there is a global oversupply of nearly two million barrels per day of crude oil. They say little has changed fundamentally to explain the price rebound of the past two weeks. The number of oil drilling rigs in the United States fell this week to its lowest since August 2011, data showed on Friday. (Reuters)

· Gold Pares Gains as Dollar Steadies. Gold pared gains after rising 1% on Friday, on track for a small weekly loss, as the dollar steadied following weaker than expected U.S. economic data. Spot gold rose to a session high of $1,235.20 an ounce and by 3:03 p.m. EST (2003 GMT) was up 0.5% at $1,228.46 per ounce. It was on track to finish the week down 0.4%. Silver rose 2.8% to $17.28 an ounce. Platinum gained 0.7% at $1,202.45 an ounce, while palladium was up 2% at $787.47 an ounce. (Reuters)