(Bloomberg) — Taiwan’s central bank held interest rates steady at its final meeting of 2023, leaving borrowing costs at their highest levels in eight years as the island gears up for a critical January election.
Policymakers maintained Taiwan’s benchmark interest rate at 1.875% for the third consecutive meeting, in line with the estimate of 20 of 21 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. They haven’t raised rates since March.
The monetary authority lowered its forecast for economic growth for this year to 1.4% from a previous estimate of 1.46% but gave a more bullish outlook for next year, raising its full-year forecast to 3.12%.
Keeping borrowing costs unchanged will help the stable development of the economy and finance, the central bank said in its statement. It warned, however, that it is monitoring the downside risks to Taiwan from China’s slowing economy.
Stubbornly high consumer prices look set to remain an additional concern for policymakers. They raised their full-year inflation forecasts for this year and next to 2.46% and 1.89% respectively.
The central bank’s response to inflation is being closely watched in the run-up to the presidential vote, in which the ruling Democratic Progressive Party is trying to win an historic third straight term in power.
The government faces challenges from high prices, with the consumer price index hovering around 3% for the last three months as the price of food staples such as meat have surged. The gap between inflation for the island’s poorest families and overall price increases last month was the widest since March, adding to strains.
If inflation pressures persist, that may hurt the DPP’s hopes of securing another victory. While its presidential candidate — Vice President Lai Ching-te — has led polls for much of this year, his lead is narrowing as the rival Kuomintang’s Hou Yu-ih gains traction. The KMT is more friendly toward Beijing than the DPP is, and the outcome of the election may have big implications for geopolitical relations between China and the West.
Traders are ramping up bets for global interest rate cuts after the Federal Reserve signaled it’s pivoting towards lowering its benchmark rate, which it held in a target range of 5.25% to 5.5% this week.
Taiwan’s central bank will not necessarily follow the Fed in lowering borrowing costs, governor Yang Chin-long said in a briefing Thursday.
Taiwan rates remain substantially below those of the US, along with peer economies like South Korea, which on Nov. 30 held its key rate unchanged at 3.5%.
–With assistance from Betty Hou.
(Updated with more details in the third, fourth and fifth paragraphs.)
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
