Author: Steven Sahiounie

Credit impulse, an indicator introduced by former Deutsche Bank economist Michael Biggs, measures the change in new credit issued as a percentage of the gross domestic product. While the U.S. Federal Reserve maintains its anti-liquidity stance, China no longer seems hesitant to expand credit in a positive sign for risk assets, including cryptocurrencies. Per data source MacroMicro, China’s credit impulse index, which measures the change in new credit or bank lending as a percentage of the gross domestic product, has bounced from 24% to 26% this year, indicating a renewed credit expansion relative to the growth rate. A continued rise in China’s…

Markets in the Asia-Pacific were mostly higher on Wednesday as investors await key U.S. inflation data that will determine the Federal Reserve’s path forward in its tightening cycle. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a 6% year-over-year increase in the U.S. consumer price index. Currently, the Fed is expected to raise rates by 25 basis points next month. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.57% to 28,082.7 and the Topix gained 0.76% to 2,006.92 as traders further digested Japan’s producer price index and machinery orders report. Marine transportation, wholesale, and mining led gains while banks and transportation equipment saw moderate gains. South…

Wall Street is wrong about the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path, according to former Pimco chief economist Paul McCulley. Barring a surprise jump in inflation, he believes mounting economic pressures will convince the Fed to stop hiking rates next month. “It would be a pause and then a pivot [later this year],” McCulley told CNBC’s “Fast Money” on Tuesday. McCulley delivered his latest forecast less than 24 hours before the government releases the March consumer price index. According to Dow Jones estimates, Wall Street expects a 5.1% year-over-year increase versus 6% in February. “They’re [Fed officials] going to look at the…

Bitcoin is nearly a year away from a key technical event — which might be the catalyst for a prolonged climb in the cryptocurrency’s value. In April or May 2024, bitcoin is expected to undergo its next so-called “halving,” though the exact date is not yet known. Bitcoin has been rising in the past few weeks in anticipation of the halving, as a potential U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut contends with the prospect of sluggish growth and tightening credit conditions resulting from woes in the banking sector. One bitcoin was worth roughly $30,000 as of Wednesday morning, according to data from CoinGecko.…

It is expected that Brazil and China will sign about 20 bilateral agreements during the Brazilian president’s visit to China. Experts pointed out that the two countries may announce the use of the Chinese yuan in mutual trade. The Brazilian government said in a statement that Brazil and China will sign at least 20 bilateral agreements during the visit of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, adding that the president plans to visit Shanghai and Beijing, where he will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping next Friday. The statement also indicated that the two presidents will discuss issues of…

The United Arab Emirates topped the list of countries from which the Egyptian market witnessed capital inflows through corporate investment in the period from 2014 to the end of 2022. Abu Dhabi accounted for 57.22% of capital flows from foreign countries to Egypt in the aforementioned period. Official government sources stated that Emirati capital flows into Egypt are growing, starting from $624.18 million in 2014, to reach $2.2 billion in 2022. The sources indicate that the Kingdom of Bahrain ranks second in the list of foreign countries investing in Egypt since 2014, with a share of 9.41% of those flows,…

The head of the Russian Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, said that annual inflation in Russia fell last March to less than 4%, amid expectations that the indicator will continue to decline in April. The official said in a speech in the State Duma today, Wednesday: “Now the main interest rate is sitting at the level of 7.5%, we have maintained this level for 6 months, the annual inflation rate last March fell to less than 4% and it is likely to decline further in April (2023), but this level reflects the very low monthly price growth rates in the past…

Saudi Arabia topped the G20 countries in the performance of the purchasing managers’ index for the non-oil private sector, for the month of January of this year. The index recorded 58.2 points in successive growth since September 2020, reflecting the strength and durability of the Kingdom’s economy despite the instability in global markets, according to the Saudi Press Agency. The results of the index showed an improvement in the level of commercial activity, and an increase in demand for goods and services within the non-oil private sector, amid expectations of officials in the sector to continue strong growth despite geopolitical…

The International Monetary Fund stated that the dollar’s ​​share in global foreign exchange reserves decreased at the end of last year 2022 to 58.36%, which is the lowest level in 27 years. The fund added that non-reserve currencies have become the main beneficiaries, with their share jumping to the maximum level since mid-2012. The international institution stated that the dollar’s ​​share in international foreign exchange reserves declined in 2022 by 0.44% to 58.36%, which is the lowest level since at least 1995. The International Monetary Fund noted that the decline in the share of the “American” was the strongest of…

Oil prices rose slightly, in trading today, Wednesday, after data showed an unexpected increase in US crude and gasoline inventories. By 09:59 Moscow time, US crude futures rose 0.15% to $81.65 a barrel. Brent crude futures rose by 0.19% to $85.77 a barrel, according to Bloomberg. Data from the American Petroleum Institute indicated that crude stocks increased by 380,000 barrels in the week ending on April 7, 2023. This article was originally published by RT.