Consumer goods retail sales in China declined 0.2 percent year on year to 13.81 trillion yuan ($2.03 trillion) in January-April, according to figures released by the country's national statistics bureau on Monday. Online retail sales grew 3.3 percent. In the period under review, urban retail sales declined 0.3 percent year on year to 11.99 trillion yuan ($1.76 trillion). Sales in the countryside...

On Thursday, Asian currencies fell to multi-year lows versus the US dollar, as the latest inflation data fueled the US currency's surge. The dollar had strengthened significantly against various Asia-Pacific currencies by the close of the trading day in Hong Kong, including Australia, China, and South Korea. The strengthening of the dollar is due in part to increased demand for US assets such...

President Joe Biden has personally intervened to remedy the newborn formula crisis, promising to remove bureaucratic barriers to increase supply and threatening speculators. The shortfall of formula is estimated to be 40-50 percent, big merchants have begun rationing single-handed supplies, and the political establishment is discussing whether American kids should be prioritized before those of...

The index of economic expectations in the euro area fell to minus 34 points (from minus 29.8 points in April), which was the lowest since December 2008, according to research group Sentix. The eurozone's index of investor confidence in the economy fell to minus 22.6 points in May from minus 18 in April, the lowest since June 2020. The index of current economic conditions fell to minus 10.5 points...

Saudi state-owned oil and gas company Saudi Aramco has cut crude oil prices for Asia and the European Union by 50% or more for June compared with the month of May, leaving them at the level of May for the United States, Reuters reported, citing an Aramco report. "Saudi Aramco cut by more than 50 percent the official selling price of Arab Light crude for June for northwestern Europe to about $2.10...

According to a statement on the Central Bank of Brazil's website, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Brazil (Copom) has lifted its benchmark rate for the eleventh time in a row to 12.75 percent. "Copom voted unanimously to boost the benchmark interest rate to 12.75 percent per year, an increase of 1.00 percentage point. The committee recognizes that this decision reflects...

India's total coal production in fiscal 2021-22 has been tentatively estimated at 777.02 million tonnes, the country's coal ministry said. "The total coal production in fiscal 2021-22 was 777.02 million tonnes (provisional) as against 716 million tonnes in fiscal 2020-21, recording an increase of 8.55%. Coal India Ltd's (state-owned coal mining corporation) production increased by 4.43% from...

Authorities in Mexico, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile, which have lithium reserves, are discussing creation of an association to share technology for exploration and extraction of the mineral, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said. "There has been communication with the president of Bolivia, he in turn has a dialogue, as do we, with the president of Argentina, who also have lithium,...

The Chinese authorities will discuss loosening control over the technology sector with Tencent, Meituan and other IT-giants, newspapers reported. China plans to loosen controls over the country's technology sector amid a slowdown in economic growth. This week the Chinese government will hold a meeting with representatives of the largest IT-companies to discuss the regulation of the industry,...