We've had the interest rate decision from the RBNZ already today
ICYMI:
- RBNZ's Wheeler: China building and manufacturing "very much under stress"
- New Zealand dollar falls more than a cent after surprise RBNZ rate cut
- Full text of the RBNZ decision March 10, 2016
- RBNZ cuts rates to 2.25% in surprise move
Still to come from New Zealand today, at 2310GMT Governor Wheeler speaks again, answering questions at a parliament committee
Also today:
2350GMT - Japan - International Transactions in Securities
2350GMT - Japan - PPI (formerly known as Corporate Goods Price Index (CGPI)) for February
- m/m expected -0.3%, prior -0.9%
- PPI y/y expected -3.4%, prior -3.1%
0000GMT - Australia - Melbourne Institute Survey of Consumer Inflationary Expectations for March. Prior was 3.6%
0130GMT - And the focus for the session from China - CPI and PPI for February
- CPI y/y, expected is 1.8%, prior was 1.8%
- PPI y/y, expected is -4.9%, prior was -5.3%. Chinese firms have been cutting prices for 4 years now, keeping PPI in the negatives. Sluggish demand and excess capacity (and therefore fierce competition) driving the falls. Not only does deflation at this level weigh on upstream prices (and into the CPI) the impact of diminished cash flow weighs on highly leveraged firms. Debt is an issue in China, especially amongst manufacturing firms, higher inflation at the producer level should relieve some of the pressure, but it ain't happening. Calls for cuts to interest rates and yuan devaluation will continue.
