2025-04-15 02:08

Top Japan trade negotiator to visit Washington from Wednesday Akazawa says meeting Bessent, Greer in kick-off trade talks Finance minister Kato seen travelling to Washington next week BOJ official plays down market rout, says no liquidity run TOKYO, April 15 (Reuters) - Japan will seek full removal of additional tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, its top negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said on Tuesday, ahead of his scheduled three-day visit to Washington. Japan, a long-time U.S. ally, has been hit with 24% levies on its exports to the United States although these tariffs have, like most of Trump's sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs, been paused for 90 days. Sign up here. But a 10% universal rate remains in place as does a 25% duty for cars, which is set to be particularly painful. The U.S. is Japan's biggest export destination and automobile shipments account for roughly 28% of its exports there. "The tariffs already in place are eating away Japanese firms' profits day by day," Akazawa told a news conference. "It won't be easy but the government will work as one to achieve our goal at the earliest date possible," he said. "Our goal is the complete removal of additional U.S. tariffs." Akazawa, who is Japan's economy minister, said he will visit the U.S. from Wednesday to Friday for talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Japan hopes to convince the U.S. that the two countries can achieve a "win-win" situation without resorting to tariffs, such as by expanding Japanese investment in the U.S., Akazawa said. He did not comment on a possible timeframe for striking a deal. Given its heavy reliance on the U.S. market, Japan has much at stake in the talks that are expected to cover tariffs, non-tariff barriers and the thorny topic of exchange rates. Most economists expect Trump's tariffs to knock 0.6 percentage point off Japan's economic growth in the current fiscal year ending in March 2026, according to a survey by the Japan Center for Economic Research released last week. The market rout caused by Trump's tariffs also risks cooling business sentiment and derailing a cycle of rising wages and prices, which the Bank of Japan (BOJ) sees as a prerequisite in normalising ultra-easy policy. Global stock, currency and bond markets have whipsawed due to Trump's back-and-forth comments on tariffs, with some analysts seeing the recent sharp drops in U.S. Treasuries and the dollar as a sign markets are losing confidence in the safe- haven status of U.S. assets. A senior BOJ official played down the chance global markets are spiralling into a dangerous "dash for cash" situation. "Unlike during the global financial crisis, we're not seeing a major decline in short-term liquidity," Akio Okuno, head of the BOJ's monetary affairs department, said on Tuesday. But uncertainty over the fallout from Trump's policy will likely keep the BOJ from raising interest rates for some time, including at its next policy meeting on April 30-May 1, analysts say. CURRENCY ISSUES The yen's recent rebound, driven mostly by the dollar's broad-based declines, may also ease potential pressure from the U.S. to prop up the yen against the dollar to give U.S. exports a competitive advantage, some analysts say. Tokyo has lobbied to keep the thorny issue of currency rates separate from direct negotiations on trade, and up to the two countries' finance chiefs to discuss. Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said he is arranging to travel to Washington next week to attend the spring International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings, where he could hold meetings with Bessent. Japan and the U.S. share the view that markets should set exchange rates, and that excessive and disorderly currency moves have adverse effects on the economy and financial stability, Kato told parliament on Tuesday. "I hope to continue dialogue with the U.S. based on this shared understanding," he said. https://www.reuters.com/markets/boj-official-sees-no-huge-drop-global-short-term-liquidity-2025-04-15/

2025-04-15 01:32

MUMBAI, April 15 (Reuters) - Global volatility sparked by fluctuating U.S. tariff policies will remain in focus for the Indian rupee this week, even as a battered dollar offers some comfort, while government bond yields may ease on central bank bond buying. The rupee closed at 86.04 on Friday, down 0.9% on the week. India's financial markets were shut on Monday for a local holiday. Sign up here. Over the weekend, the U.S. exempted smartphones and computers from "reciprocal" tariffs, even though President Trump warned that levies would come at some point. This came shortly after he announced a 90-day postponement of most global tariffs. Despite the pause, investor confidence in U.S. assets remains shaky, which has contributed to pushing the dollar to a three-year low against major peers. While the weaker dollar has given some breathing room to Asian currencies, analysts reckon that markets will remain acutely sensitive to trade-related developments. "Negative global risk sentiment could mean that EM and commodity currencies could remain under pressure," said Abhishek Goenka, chief executive at FX advisory firm IFA Global. Trump appears to have asked for directed talks on tariffs to begin immediately with South Korea, Japan and India, South Korea's acting President Han Duck-soo said on Monday. Traders expect the rupee to trade between 85.70 and 86.70 over the holiday-shortened week, and many pointed out that the Chinese yuan's performance will be a key determinant of the rupee's trajectory. Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-year bond yield ended at 6.4445% on Friday, down 2 basis points, and posted its fourth consecutive weekly decline. Traders expect the yield to hover in the 6.40%-6.45% range this week, with Indian markets also being shut on Friday. The RBI slashed its key policy rate by 25 basis points for a second time last week, coupled with a change in stance to "accommodative" suggesting more rate cuts in coming months. Economists expect a deeper-than-expected rate cut cycle on downside risks to growth and a benign inflation outlook. "We believe that the global growth outlook is expected to be highly uncertain and may have potential negative implications for our growth. Inflation is expected to be within target of 4% due to lower crude, food," said Sachin Bajaj, executive vice president & chief investment officer at Axis Max Life Insurance. Market participants will also keep an eye out for local retail inflation data due on Tuesday. India consumer prices likely rose around the same rate in March as they did in February following four months of declines, as a sharp rise in gold prices offset flat food prices, a Reuters poll showed. KEY EVENTS: India ** March WPI inflation - April 15, Tuesday (12:00 pm IST) (Reuters poll: 2.50%) ** March CPI inflation - April 15, Tuesday (4:00 pm IST) (Reuters poll: 3.60%) U.S. ** March import prices - April 15, Tuesday (6:00 p.m. IST) ** March retail sales - April 16, Wednesday (6:00 p.m. IST) ** March industrial production - April 16, Wednesday (6:45 p.m. IST) ** March housing starts - April 17, Thursday (6:00 p.m. IST) ** Initial weekly jobless claims for week to April 7 - April 17, Thursday (6:00 p.m. IST) ** April Philly Fed Business Index - April 17, Thursday (6:00 p.m. IST) https://www.reuters.com/world/india/us-tariff-fluctuations-drive-rupee-bond-yields-may-ease-central-bank-debt-buy-2025-04-15/

2025-04-15 00:57

Tariffs may delay inflation reaching Fed's 2% goal until 2027, Bostic says Economy on pause, with growth likely to slow: Bostic April 14 (Reuters) - Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic said on Monday the uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration's tariff and other policies has put the economy into a "big pause," and he suggested the U.S. central bank should stay on hold until there is more clarity. "The specific place that the economy will land depends critically on the details of where policy lands," Bostic said, speaking at Emory University. "And because we don't know that now, again, that's another reason why I feel like moving too boldly with our policy in any direction wouldn't be prudent at the moment." Sign up here. Tariffs are likely to push up on prices, Bostic said, meaning that it will take longer than he had earlier thought, perhaps until 2027, to get inflation back down to the Fed's 2% goal. At the same time, economic growth will likely slow, with GDP growing more than 1% this year, less than half the recent pace, he said. Bostic did not say whether he still believes the Fed will cut interest rates once this year, the view he had expressed in March. Since then, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced tariffs on dozens of countries, and then proceeded to roll back some of the new tariffs temporarily even as he ratcheted up import levies on China, which has retaliated with big tariffs of its own. The result, analysts say, is that tariffs on U.S. imports now average out at about 25%, about tenfold what they were when Trump took office in January. It is unclear if tariffs will remain there. Trump on Monday, in his latest shift, floated possible exemptions to his auto tariffs, even as the administration opened investigations into pharmaceutical and chip imports, a move that could presage fresh tariffs. "I think the fog has just gotten really, really thick," Bostic said. "The economy is in a big pause position and we'll just have to see sort of how things evolve." https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/feds-bostic-bold-moves-wouldnt-be-prudent-amid-fog-uncertainty-2025-04-15/

2025-04-15 00:47

BENGALURU, April 15 (Reuters) - The Bank of Korea will keep its key interest rate unchanged at 2.75% on Thursday, according to a Reuters poll of economists who expect the central bank to resume reductions in May. If realized, this will be the central bank's second hold since it began its rate-cutting cycle in October. The previous hold was in January, when it paused to assess the impact of domestic political turmoil on the economy. Sign up here. This time, policymakers are grappling with volatile currency moves and trying to gauge the economic impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff war which is likely to be negative given exports account for nearly half of gross domestic product (GDP). Nearly two-thirds of economists, 24 of 37, polled April 8-14 expected the BOK to hold its base rate (KROCRT=ECI) , opens new tab at 2.75% on April 17. The remaining 13 forecast a 25 basis point cut. A strong majority, 27 of 30, predicted the rate would be 25 basis points lower by May, at 2.50%, with most expecting another quarter-point cut next quarter. That view is unchanged from a February survey. "We expect the BOK to make a dovish hold decision at the April meeting while digesting the recent announcements on reciprocal tariffs and the 90-day pause on them, as well as the roller-coaster moves in the global markets," wrote Kathleen Oh, chief Korea economist at Morgan Stanley. "At the same time, we think the recent hyper FX volatility will keep the BOK cautious against moving into a rushed cut. We see a further downward revision to the BOK's growth forecast as unavoidable at the coming meeting in May, given further developments on the trade conflict between the U.S. and China." Last week's sudden announcement of a 90-day tariff reprieve by Trump provided some relief to the Korean won which sank to a 16-year low on April 9 - a level last seen when the country was recovering from the global financial crisis. Over half of economists who had forecasts through year-end said rates would finish 2025 at 2.25%, considered by some economists as the "neutral" rate which neither hinders nor stimulates the economy. Nine forecast rates at 2.00% or lower, while three said 2.50%, highlighting the range of views on the rate outlook given so much uncertainty over trade. "South Korea is one of the countries which is opting for active negotiation with the U.S. In this sense, it is likely for South Korea to see early waiver of tariffs compared to other countries," said Stephen Lee, chief economist at Meritz Securities. "This does not mean BOK should stop cutting. The range and extent of tariffs were bigger than what everybody expected. It means that BOK would have to change its assumptions, alter their economic outlook, and be more proactive in terms of cutting rates." (Other stories from the April Reuters global economic poll) https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/bank-korea-hold-rates-275-april-17-assessing-trade-impact-2025-04-15/

2025-04-15 00:44

SAO PAULO, April 14 (Reuters) - Brazilian fintech Meliuz (CASH3.SA) , opens new tab said on Monday it will propose expanding its bitcoin reserves strategy, aiming to make the cryptocurrency the main strategic asset in the firm's treasury. In a securities filing, Meliuz said it will call a shareholder meeting for May 6 to vote on including bitcoin investments as one of the company's corporate purposes. Sign up here. Meliuz had launched earlier this year its bitcoin strategy. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/brazil-fintech-meliuz-proposes-expanding-bitcoin-reserves-strategy-2025-04-15/

2025-04-14 23:07

LONDON, April 15 (Reuters) - British shoppers spent more last month even as worries about the global economy grew in the run-up to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff increases, according to data published on Tuesday. The British Retail Consortium said sales at its member stores - mostly large retail chains - rose by 1.1% year-on-year in March, matching February's increase. Sign up here. The increase would have been bigger were it not for the Easter holiday falling in April this year unlike in 2024 when it was in March, boosting sales in that month, the BRC said. "Despite a challenging global geopolitical landscape, the small increase in both food and non-food sales masked signs of underlying strengthening of demand," BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said. A separate measure of overall consumer spending published by Barclays painted a less upbeat picture. Barclays said spending rose by 0.5% in March compared with the same month last year, slowing from February's 1.0% increase and weaker than the rate of inflation. However, its figures also did not adjust for Easter falling in different months in 2024 and 2025. Warm weather helped garden centres and specialist food and drink shops but supermarket sales were down by 2.6%. Jack Meaning, chief UK economist at Barclays, said a drop in confidence among consumers highlighted the risk of a pullback in spending in the coming months. "We expect spending to remain muted through mid-2025, before picking up into 2026 as interest rates easing starts to be felt and uncertainty begins to normalise," Meaning said. Two in three of consumers surveyed by Barclays after Trump's tariff increase announcement earlier this month were worried that imported products would become more expensive and 71% said they planned to buy more "Made in Britain" items. A third survey published on Tuesday showed company bosses turned negative on the outlook for the first time since the end of 2022 as worries about a tax increase on employers added to the concerns about Trump's tariffs. The measure of business confidence published by Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales dropped to -3 in the first three months of 2025 from +0.2 in the previous quarter. Employment growth was its weakest in almost four years, reflecting the impact of finance minister Rachel Reeves' decision to raise social security contributions for employers from this month. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-shoppers-raised-their-spending-march-face-trumps-tariff-onslaught-2025-04-14/