Malaysia

Commercial Banks Pledge Support for Home Ownership. Commercial banks in Malaysia have come out in full support of the government’s initiatives to assist households from low and middle-income groups to buy their own homes, says The Association of Banks Malaysia (ABM). It added on Monday that it is untrue that there are tougher credit checks on potential buyers. While keeping the household debt under control, ABM executive director Chuah Mei Lin said its member banks that have participated in government schemes such as ‘PR1MA’ and ‘Skim Rumah Pertamaku’. “The rejection rate for housing loans have been on a declining trend from 25% in 2012 to 18% in 2014 reflecting borrowers and lenders adjusting better to the affordability assessments,” she added. (The Star)

Customs Expects 75,480 GST Return Statements By May 31. The Royal Malaysian Customs Department expects to receive Goods and Services Tax (GST) return statements from 75,480 GST-registered companies by May 31. Khazali said businesses with annual taxable income exceeding RM5 million must submit their GST return statement monthly. Companies with annual taxable income of less than RM5 million, however, have to submit their statement every three months. (Bernama)

Asia

Japan Exports Rise More Than Forecast on Shipments to U.S. Japanese exports rose more than forecast in April, providing support for an economy that’s expanded for two straight quarters after a recession in 2014. The value of overseas shipments rose 8% from a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday, compared with a median estimate for a 6% increase. Shipments to the U.S. rose 21%, and those to China climbed 2.4% from a year earlier. Japan’s exports exceeded imports in March for the first time in almost three years. Imports slid 4.2%, leaving a 53.4 billion yen ($440 million) trade deficit. A decline in oil prices contributed to the fall in imports, with the value of crude oil imports down almost 35%, even as volume rose 9.1%. (Bloomberg)

China Cuts Taxes for Imported Sneakers, Diapers to Lift Buying. Chinese shoppers may get better deals on items including sports shoes, face cream, and diapers after the government reduced import tax by half to boost consumption. Import tariff for some clothes, shoes, and skincare products will be cut by an average of more than 50% starting June 1, according to a statement from the Customs Bureau of the Ministry of Finance on Monday. Many Chinese enjoy shopping overseas because “prices for those items in the domestic market are unreasonably high”, said Yuan Gangming, an economist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The move will satisfy local appetite for the goods and lift imports, according to the Customs Bureau’s statement. (Bloomberg)

Singapore April CPI Posts Biggest Annual Drop in 5 Years. Singapore's consumer prices recorded their biggest year-on-year drop in five years in April, an outcome analysts said could open the way to further monetary easing if economic growth disappoints later this year. The all-items consumer price index fell 0.5% in April from a year earlier, official data showed on Monday. That was the largest drop since late 2009 and exceeded the 0.1% drop expected by economists. The fall in headline CPI was mainly due to a sharper price drop in oil-related items and a moderation in services inflation, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said. (Reuters)

Thai Business Sentiment at 7-Month Low, Auto Sales Slump Clocks 2 Years. A slump in car sales in Thailand reached two years in April, while business sentiment hit a seven-month low, the Federation of Thai Industries said on Monday. "The industrial index fell quite a bit and in every part of the country, reflecting problems in the farm sector, which needs a boost from the government," FTI Chairman Supant Mongkolsuthree told reporters after releasing the April business sentiment survey. Its Thai industries' sentiment index has fallen for four straight months, and the index hit a seven-month low in April. In April, domestic auto sales fell 26.2% from a year earlier and were 15.3% down for the first four months of this year, FTI data showed. (Reuters)

China Invites Private Investors to Help Build $318 Billion of Projects. China's state planning agency on Monday released a list of more than 1,000 proposed projects totaling 1.97 trillion yuan ($317.75 billion) that it is inviting private investors to help fund, build and operate. The National Development and Reform Commission said the 1,043 projects, in sectors such as transport, water conservancy and public services, will be done as public-private partnerships (PPP). An NDRC statement on its website did not say whether private investors will include foreign firms. (Reuters)

Currencies

Dollar Lifted by U.S Rate View. In foreign exchange markets, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, rose 0.3% to a one-month high of 96.475. Against the yen, the dollar traded near a two-month high of 121.78, jumping from a low of 120.64 after Yellen's comments and as stronger-than-expected underlying U.S. inflation supported the Fed's case for an interest rate hike later this year. The euro was weaker, falling to a one-month low of $1.0959 with some traders citing the victory of anti-austerity parties in Spain and Greece's financial crisis as factors. (Reuters)

Commodities

Oil Prices Gain as Firm Demand Outweighs Dollar Strength. Crude oil futures rose on Monday as firm global demand offset a strong dollar, although a holiday in the United States and much of Europe kept trading muted. Front-month Brent crude gained 53 cents to $65.90 a barrel by 1750 GMT, after touching an intraday low of $64.72. U.S. crude was up 8 cents at $59.80 a barrel. The market drew support from figures showing strong demand across Asia and the United States. "Global oil demand continues to surprise to the upside, with April data showing no signs of slowdown despite a pick-up in prices," Energy Aspects said in a note. In China, crude imports hit a record 7.4 million bpd last month, with healthy car sales countering a slowing economy. (Reuters)

Gold Edges Up as Yellen Comments Shore Up Dollar. Gold prices rose slightly on Monday, even as the dollar gained traction against major currency rivals on signs the U.S. Federal Reserve is preparing to tighten monetary policy for the first time in six years in 2015. Higher U.S. interest rates increases the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,206.80 an ounce by 1826 GMT, just above a near-two-week low of $1,201.20 hit in the previous session. It posted its biggest weekly drop in a month last week, down 1.4%. Silver was up 0.8% at $17.12 an ounce, after falling 2.2% last week. Platinum rose 0.3% to $1,145.50 an ounce and palladium rose 0.3% to $785.98 an ounce. (Reuters)