Government approved EEC projects. 48 EEC development projects with total value of Bt7bn were approved. (Siam Rath, 18/11/16)
Bangkok – Huahin high speed train to be proposed to PPP within this year. The project is 211 km long with total value of Bt94.6bn. Recently, 193.5km Bangkok – Rayong route with total value of Bt152bn was already proposed to PPP committee. (IQ Biz, 15/11/16)
BAAC ready to help farmers. The bank will pay Bt800/rai for Hommali, Bt1200/rai for Hompathum and Bt1000/rai for paddy rice. Averagely, farmers will get Bt2000/ton. (Post Today 14/11/16
Increasing Bt5-10 for minimum wage to be approved by cabinet today. Increasing minimum wage for Bt5-10 in 69 provinces will be in cabinet meeting today. This is expected to be effective on 1 January 2017. (Kom Chad Luek, 15/11/16)
Kuroda turns cautiously optimistic about inflation target. Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda expressed confidence Monday that the 2 percent inflation target will be achieved around fiscal 2018, saying a pickup in oil prices and possible wage growth could help push up prices. (Japan Times, IQ Biz, 14/11/16)
Case ‘quite strong’ for gradual rate rises, Fed monitoring markets: Fischer. U.S. economic growth prospects appear strong enough for the Federal Reserve to proceed with gradual interest rate rises but the central bank is monitoring an increase in long-term U.S. government borrowing costs, Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer said on Friday. (Reuters, IQ Biz, 11/11/16)
Exports Drive Japan’s Economy to Unexpectedly Strong Growth. Gross domestic product expanded by an annualized 2.2 percent, according to data released by the Cabinet Office on Monday (median estimate of economists +0.8 percent). (Bloomberg, IQ Biz, 14/11/16)
US housing starts surge to 9-year high in October. U.S. housing starts surged to a more than nine-year high in October as builders ramped up construction of both single and multifamily homes, offering hope that housing will contribute to economic growth in the fourth quarter. Groundbreaking jumped 25.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.32 million units, the highest level since August 2007, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. The percent increase was the biggest since July 1982. Starts increased in all four regions last month. (CNBC, IQ Biz, 17/11/16)
Only a surprise will halt December Fed rate hike: Bullard. The Federal Reserve will hike U.S. interest rates in December barring any major shocks, policymaker James Bullard said on Wednesday, adding that a single rate increase may be enough to move monetary policy to a “neutral setting”. “You would have to have a surprise at this point,” for the Fed not to increase rates, Bullard, who is a voting member of the U.S. central bank’s rate-setting committee, told reporters at a UBS banking conference in London. (Reuters, IQ Biz, 17/11/16)
U.S. crude stockpiles rise on heavier imports: EIA. Crude inventories USOILC=ECI rose for the third consecutive week, increasing 5.3 million barrels in week ended Nov. 11, compared with expectations for an increase of 1.5 million barrels. (Reuters, IQ Biz, 17/11/16)
