Singapore: Domestic demand could improve in H2 2021 – UOB

Pablo Piovano FXStreet

Economist at UOB Group Barnabas Gan reviews the recently published Retail Sales data in Singapore.

Key Quotes

“Singapore retail sales fell 6.1% y/y (-1.8% m/m sa) in January 2021, marking 24 straight months of contraction.”

“Retail sales may continue to stay subdued at least into 1H21, given the absence of tourism-led demand. The resurgence of COVID-19 cases globally, coupled with the new contagious strains seen to-date, may mean that international travel could stay weak for a prolonged period… However, we think that the improving domestic demand seen todate, should it be sustained, could be sufficient allow a rebound in 2H21. Barring an unexpected exacerbation of COVID-19 infections in Singapore, we remain cautiously optimistic for retail sales to recover to +1.0% in 2021.”

Author

Pablo Piovano

FXStreet

Born and bred in Argentina, Pablo has been carrying on with his passion for FX markets and trading since his first college years.

AUD/USD meets fresh supply and tests 0.7100 amid weak Australian PMIs

AUD/USD has come under fresh selling pressure and is testing 0.7100 in the Asian session on Wednesday. Australia's flash PMIs showed manufacturing slipped into contraction and services expanding slowly for a second straight month, renewing the pair's downside. Furthermore, a bullish US Dollar acts as a headwind for the pair as traders keenly await the crucial Trump-Xi summit on Thursday. Meanwhile, markets shrug off US-Iran indirect talks.

USD/JPY stands firm near mid-157.00s, close to two-week high

USD/JPY hovers around mid-157.00s in the Asian session on Wednesday, near two-week highs touched last Friday as the BoJ's dovish rate hike continues to undermine the Japanese Yen. Meanwhile, the US Dollar remains firm amid the Fed's hawkish stance, adding support to the pair, though JPY intervention fears cap further gains. Markets pay little heed to the completion of the round of US-Iran indirect talks ahead of Trump-Xi meeting.

Gold approaches $4,300 as Fed hike bets boost USD to fresh high since late July

Gold extends its steady intraday slide through the first half of the European session, reversing a part of the previous day's recovery from sub-$4,300 levels. US Dollar buying remains unabated on the back of the Federal Reserve's hawkish outlook, which is seen as a key factor driving flows away from the non-yielding yellow metal.

Bitcoin outperforms US equities and Gold since mid-August

Bitcoin (BTC) extends its rally, trading above $86,000 at the time of writing on Wednesday after gaining more than 6% so far this week. Strong institutional demand is supporting BTC’s bullish price action, with spot Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) recording over $714 million in inflows on Tuesday after nearly $1 billion in positive flows the previous day.

S&P Global PMIs expected to show resilient US economic growth in September

S&P Global will release on Wednesday its preliminary September Purchasing Managers' Indices (PMIs) for the United States, based on surveys of top private sector executives, to provide an early indication of economic momentum. The data is expected to highlight US economic resilience.

BoJ Recap: Not as hawkish as expected

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) raised its short-term interest-rate target to 1.25% from 1.00% in a 7-2 vote, marking another step in the normalisation of monetary policy and widely matching what everyone has been expecting for weeks.