AUSTRALIA'S EXPORTS REMAIN STRONG: ECONOMISTS
Australia's exports remain strong as the Asian economy keeps growing, said Australian economists on Thursday after official data showed a trade surplus of more than 2. 5 billion U.S. dollars in October.
Economist Ben Jarman from Australia's financial services firm JP Morgan said the headline number was broadly in line with market forecasts and predicted that interest rates would stay on hold until March next year.
"Exports we thought would have accelerated given the fact that the Chinese, and more broadly the emerging Asian data, seems to have turned a corner in the last couple of months," Jarman said.
"After shifting down in the middle of the year growth in that region seems to be ramping up which is obviously pretty positive for our export sector."
The Australian balance of goods and services was a surplus of 2. 63 billion AU dollars (2.54 billion U.S. dollars) in October from an upwardly revised surplus of 1.81 billion AU
dollars (1.75 billion U.S. dollars) in September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said on Thursday.
The median market forecast was for a surplus of 2 billion AU dollars (1.93 billion U.S. dollars) in the month.
During the month, exports were up 1.0 percent in adjusted terms, while imports were down 3.0 percent.
Meanwhile, chief economist Savanth Sebastian from Australia's leading Internet broker Commsec said the figures were in line with market expectations.
"Trade is an area that is going to boom and continue to show resilience and strength given the high iron ore and coal prices," Sebastian said.
Australian major bank Commonwealth Bank chief economist Michael Blythe said trade surpluses would continue but they would not get much bigger than where they are at the moment.
HSBC KICKS OFF RMB SETTLEMENT DEALS IN INDIA
HSBC Bank has offered RMB settlement for Indian importers, said Stuart Davis, CEO of HSBC in India.
Speaking on the sidelines of a bankers' conference in Mumbai, Davis told Xinhua that the deals are medium-sized and it will take time to gain liquidity in this regard.
The RMB settlement arrangements enable importers to pay imports through Indian rupees or China's RMB without the involvement of U. S. dollars, helping drive down transaction costs and avoid exchange risk.
Until now, HSBC has done three RMB settlements via HSBC offices in Hong Kong, said Bill Susinski, head of international business with HSBC India's commercial banking operations.
Susinski said RMB settlement could be conducted only through Hong Kong and HSBC is waiting for the approval from the Indian central bank to allow Indian companies to open RMB accounts in India.
Once approved, RMB settlement transactions will pick up speed of growth, according to Susinski.
Susinski added that there're more than 1,700 Indian companies incorporated in Hong Kong, where they can open RMB accounts now.
HSBC Bank (China) Company also made a presentation to Indian business people on Friday in Mumbai with the aim to promote the use of RMB in the 60-billion U.S. dollars China-India bilateral trade.
Montgomery Ho, managing director with commercial banking of HSBC Bank (China), said the employment of RMB settlement will cut transaction cost and keep off exchange risk and holder of RMB could gain from expected appreciations of RMB.
Ho said Hong Kong now has a big RMB pool as an offshore RMB center and financial instruments could be developed in the future when the RMB pool is big enough.
Currently, HSBC Bank could provide RMB settlement services in more than 30 countries across the world.
Earlier this year, Aditya Puri, CEO of India-based HDFC Bank, called for the use of local currencies in bilateral trade between China and India to reduce transaction cost and time of settlement.
HSBC Bank has been one of front-runners to spearhead the internationalization of RMB thanks to its worldwide network.
Now, HSBC Bank is the second largest foreign bank in India with 46 branches in 25 states.
BRAZIL'S TRADE SURPLUS DOWN 35% IN FIRST 11 MONTHS OF 2010
Brazil posted a trade surplus of 14.9 billion U.S. dollars in the first 11 months of 2010, down 35.4 percent from the same period last year, the Development, Trade and Industry Ministry announced on Wednesday.
The sharp fall was attributed to a rise in the imports, which were boosted by the good conditions of the Brazilian economy in 2010. Imports totaled 166 billion U.S. dollars from
January to November, up 43.9 percent from the same period in 2009. Exports also increased, but at a lower pace, totaling 180.9 billion dollars, up 30.7 percent year on year.
In November, Brazil registered a trade surplus of 312 million dollars, down 83.2 percent from October and 48.9 percent from the same period last year. According to the ministry, the figures were the lowest registered since January, when Brazil had a trade deficit of 177 million dollars.
The low figures can also be attributed to the imports, which reached 17.3 billion dollars last month, up 5.1 percent from October and 44.3 percent year on year. Exports totaled 17.6 billion dollars, down 3.8 percent from October and up 39.8 percent from November 2009.
Written & Compiled by
Adam Gilbourne - MD
Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Monday, December 6th 2010 at 2:07AM
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