Cabinet approves budget worth Bt17.5bn for Village Funds. The cabinet yesterday approved a 17.5-billion-baht budget for 74,655 Village Funds across the country at 250,000 baht each for local development. The move is a fresh bid to boost the rural economy, prevent people from borrowing from loan sharks and maintain the country’s economic momentum in the final quarter. (Bangkok Post, 26/10/16)
BoT says recovery to pick up steam in 2017. The amount of debt held by Thai households might not decline next year, but it is less likely to harm economic stability, says a senior Bank of Thailand official. (Bangkok Post, 26/10/16)
Thai exports grew 3.4% in September. The Ministry of Commerce announced that Thai exports in September expanded +3.4%YoY to US$19.4bn, the highest in 23 months – since October 2015. Imports in September grew +5.57%YoY, to US$16.9bn. (Thai Post, 27/10/16)
3Q16 NPLs up. According to the BoT, 3Q16 outstanding NPLs was at Bt393bn or 2.89% of total loan. This was higher than the previous quarter when outstanding NPLs were Bt373bn or 2.72% of total loans. (Bangkok Biz, 28/10/16)
BOJ Kuroda Suggests Timing for 2% Inflation Target to 2018. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Friday suggested that the BOJ may delay the timing for hitting its 2 percent price target to sometime in or after fiscal 2018 If postponed, the goal may not be achieved during his term that will end in April 2018. (Market Pulse, IQ Biz, 21/10/16)
Euro zone composite PMI rises more than expected in October. In a report, market research group Markit said that the flash services purchasing managers’ index rose to 53.5 this month, from September’s final reading of 52.2. The preliminary euro zone manufacturing purchasing managers’ index unexpectedly rose to a seasonally adjusted 53.3 this month from a final reading of 52.6 in August. (Nasdaq, IQ Biz, 21/10/16)
Fed’s Bullard: Low rates will likely be the norm for the next two to three years. Low interest rates will likely be the norm during the next two to three years, James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, said in prepared remarks on Monday. (CNBC, 24/10/16)
Draghi in Berlin Asks for Action to Reverse Long-Term Rate Slide. Mario Draghi used his second appearance in Berlin in a month to drive home his message that a three-decade slide in long-term interest rates can only be properly arrested with the help of governments. The “type of actions we need, if we want interest rates at higher levels, are those that can raise the natural rate,” the European Central Bank president said on Tuesday. “And this requires a focus on policies that can address the root causes of excess saving over investment — in other words, fiscal and structural policies.” (Bloomberg, 26/10/16)
US new home sales unexpectedly rise in September. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday new home sales increased 3.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 593,000 units last month, pulling them close to a nine-year high touched in July. August’s sales pace was revised down to 575,000 units from the previously reported 609,000 units. (CNBC, IQ Biz 26/10/16) Oil stock pile draw. U.S. crude stockpiles fell 553,000 barrels last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, a result contrary to the 1.7 million-barrel build that analysts polled by Reuters had forecast. (CNBC, IQ Biz 26/10/16)
U.K. Growth Shows an Economy Resilient to Brexit. The 0.5 percent expansion was better than the 0.3 percent median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg survey (Bloomberg, IQ Biz, 28/10/16)
