There were no major data releases from Australia yesterday, both from China CPI and PPI data was published. China’s consumer price rose the most since mid-2014 in February as food costs jumped amid the week-long Lunar New Year holidays, where millions binge on roast pork, duck, seafood and vegetables. The consumer-price index rose 2.3 percent in February from a year earlier, up from 1.8 percent in January, as food prices surged 7.3 percent. Raising question marks over the durability of that pickup, non-food prices moderated from a month earlier to a 1 percent increase and services inflation slowed.
The producer-price index fell 4.9 percent, narrowing from a 5.3 percent decrease in January, extending declines to a record 48 months. Stabilization in prices, if sustained in coming months, will ease policy makers’ concerns over deflation, which discourages new investment and erodes profit margins. Still, CPI remains well below the government’s target for 3 percent this year, meaning there’s no constraint yet on policy makers’ scope for easier monetary settings.
In the US session Unemployment Claims figures were released. In the week ending March 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 259,000, a decrease of 18,000 from the previous week's revised level. Analysts were forecasting decrease to 272,000. The previous week's level was revised down by 1,000 from 278,000 to 277,000. The 4-week moving average was 267,500, a decrease of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 250 from 270,250 to 270,000.
There will be no data releases both from Australia and USA tomorrow, but we would pay attention to developments in China.
