US Treasury yields rise after strong jobs data

NEW YORK – US Treasury yields rose on Friday as strong jobs data revisions and a decline in the unemployment rate were seen as reflecting a solid labor market, despite headline jobs gains missing economists’ expectations.

Employers added 143,000 jobs last month, below economists’ expectations for 170,000 job gains. The unemployment rate was at 4.0%, the lowest since May.

US job growth was likely restrained by wildfires in California and cold weather across much of the country.

“The top line didn’t meet expectations,” but other aspects of the report including jobs revisions and the drop in the unemployment rate were strong, said Michael Lorizio, head of US rates trading at Manulife Investment Management.

“This is something that would just further confirm that the Fed has to be on hold and is still waiting to see how the data will evolve,” he said.

Average hourly earnings rose 0.5% in January for a 4.1% increase on an annual basis, above expectations for a 3.8% increase.

“The bottom line is that there is no evidence of major cracks forming in the labor market. Job openings have declined and the rate of hiring has slowed, but businesses continue to favor an approach to addressing slack with solutions that do not involve layoffs,” Thomas Simons, chief US economist at Jefferies, said in a report.

Other data on Friday showed that US consumer sentiment dropped unexpectedly in February to a seven-month low and inflation expectations rocketed as households feared it may be too late to avoid the negative effects on their purchasing power from President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs.

Trump said on Friday he plans to announce reciprocal tariffs on many countries next week.

Fed officials on Friday said the US job market is solid and noted the lack of clarity over how Trump’s policies will affect economic growth and still-elevated inflation, underscoring their no-rush approach to interest rate cuts.

The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes was last up 5.1 basis points on the day at 4.489%. The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, rose 6.7 basis points to 4.275%,

The yield curve between two-year and 10-year notes flattened around 2 basis points on the day to 21.1 basis points.

Consumer and producer price inflation for January due next week will offer the next clues on whether price pressures are continuing to ease closer to the Fed’s 2% annual target.

Money market traders are less than certain that the Fed will make two 25 basis point cuts this year, with 37 basis points of rate reductions priced in by December.

The Treasury Department will sell USD 125 billion in coupon-bearing debt next week for its quarterly refunding. This will include USD 58 billion in three-year notes on Tuesday, USD 42 billion in 10-year notes on Wednesday and USD 25 billion in 30-year bonds on Thursday.

The Treasury on Wednesday said it expects to keep most of its debt issuance plans unchanged for the next few quarters, despite some market speculation that new Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would moot the possibility of more long-term debt issuance to fund deficits.

(Reporting by Karen Brettell; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Marguerita Choy)

Oil prices set for 3rd straight weekly fall on tariff concerns

HOUSTON – Oil prices finished with daily gains on Friday after new sanctions were imposed on Iran’s crude exports but prices were down for the week as investors worried about US President Donald Trump’s renewed trade war on China and threats of tariffs on other countries.

Brent crude futures settled at USD 74.66 a barrel, up 37 cents, or 0.5% and poised to fall more than 2% this week. US West Texas Intermediate crude finished at USD 71.00 a barrel, up 39 cents, or 0.55%.

Reports of planned tariffs from the Trump administration reined in gains following the sanctions announced on Thursday, said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC.

“We’re just trying to make our way through the sanctions/non-sanctions, tariff talk from the White House,” Kilduff said.

WTI has been left close to USD 70 a barrel, which seems to be the bottom of the trading range, Kilduff said.

“I don’t know if oil prices are low enough for the president, but we’ll see,” he said.

Traders were watching statements by Trump throughout Friday for possible changes in US policies that could reshape the market quickly, said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group.

“Trump giveth and Trump taketh away,” Flynn said.

The US Treasury said on Thursday it was imposing new sanctions on a few individuals and tankers helping to ship millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil per year to China, in an incremental move to increase pressure on Tehran.

“The imposition of tariffs and the pauses should be bullish for the oil market because it adds uncertainty, said Michael Haigh, global head of commodities research at Societe Generale. But you haven’t seen this response because of demand concerns. Tariffs and tit-for-tat responses from nations, it hurts global GDP … and oil demand.”

Trump has announced a 10% tariff on Chinese imports as part of a broad plan to improve the US trade balance, but suspended plans to impose steep tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

“Downside pressure has stemmed from the news flow around tariffs, with concerns over a potential trade war fuelling fears of weakening oil demand,” analysts at BMI said in a note on Friday.

Oil prices settled lower on Thursday after Trump repeated a pledge to raise US oil production, unnerving traders a day after the country reported a much bigger than anticipated jump in crude inventories.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba, Anna Hirtenstein, Sudarshan Varadhan and Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by David Evans, Mark Potter, Nick Zieminski and David Gregorio)

Gold poised for sixth week of gains on safe-haven demand

Gold prices rose on Friday and were on track for a sixth consecutive week of gains as escalating trade tensions between the US and China prompted investors to seek refuge in the safe-haven asset.

Spot gold gained 0.2% to USD 2,861.46 per ounce as of 01:41 p.m. ET (1841 GMT), up more than 2% this week, after hitting a record high of USD 2,886.62 earlier in the session.

US gold futures settled 0.4% higher at USD 2,887.60.

“Central focus of the gold market continues to be the uncertainty in regard to the Trump tariff policies,” said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.

US President Donald Trump this week kick-started a trade war as he followed through on his threat to impose new duties on China, though he granted Mexico and Canada a one-month reprieve.

Gold is often used as a safe investment during times of political and financial uncertainty.

The gold market also seems to have been buoyed by both continued growth in the People’s Bank of China’s gold holdings and a new Chinese program allowing insurance funds to invest in gold, said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals.

Meanwhile, a Labor Department report showed the US economy added 143,000 jobs in January, compared with a rise of 170,000 expected by economists, whereas the unemployment rate stood at 4%, compared with expectations of 4.1%.

Wage growth and declining job creation are challenging the Federal Reserve’s ability to adjust rates, shaping a uniquely complicated yet potentially advantageous situation, said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities.

A strong economy with full employment and easing inflation should allow the Fed to cut rates, but tariff uncertainties call for caution, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said.

Spot silver fell 0.8% to USD 31.94 per ounce and platinum fell 0.3% to USD 982.50. Palladium was down 0.7% at USD 971.62.

Silver and platinum were headed for weekly gains, while palladium was down 3.7% for the week.

(Reporting by Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Zieminski, Kevin Liffey and Alan Barona)

Japan’s Nikkei ends lower as strong yen hurts appetite

TOKYO – Japan’s Nikkei share average snapped a three-day winning streak to end lower on Friday as a stronger yen dampened appetite. However, investors scooped up stocks with a strong outlook, capping declines.

The Nikkei fell 0.72% to close at 38,787.02, and was down 1.28% for the week.

The broader Topix slipped 0.54% to 2,737,23.

“With the yen on the rise, the market was worried that the Japanese firms’ earnings next (fiscal) year would not be as strong as this year,” said Shigetoshi Kamada, general manager at the research department at Tachibana Securities.

The yen climbed to a nine-week high as market players piled on bets in favor of more interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan this year.

A stronger Japanese currency tends to hurt exporters’ shares as it decreases the value of overseas profits in yen terms when firms repatriate them to Japan.

Investors also sold stocks as the market ran out of positive cues after Japan’s quarterly earnings season peaked.

“We have seen a series of robust outcomes for the third quarter. With only one more quarter remaining, investors expect little positive surprises for the full year,” Kamada said.

Tokyo Electron 8035.T slipped 4% to drag the Nikkei the most, even as the chip-making equipment maker’s operating income in the third quarter jumped 50.7% from a year earlier.

Nikon slid 9.27% after the camera maker lowered its annual operating profit outlook.

Subaru soared 9.21% after the automaker lifted its annual operating profit forecast.

Kao rose 3.75% after the cosmetics maker raised its annual net profit forecast to 116 billion yen (USD 765.9 million), up 7.6% from the previous year.

Of more than 1,600 stocks trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s prime market, 45% rose, 50% fell, while 3% traded flat.

(USD 1=151.4600 yen)

(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

Inflation data to test market as tariff talk swirls

NEW YORK – A fresh look at the pace of inflation will test the US stock market this week, as investors worry that President Donald Trump’s tariff plans are endangering Wall Street’s hopes for interest rate cuts this year.

The benchmark S&P 500 remained about 1% below record-high levels, even as stocks were whipsawed this week by headlines over Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on the largest US trading partners.

Tariffs are widely seen as inflationary, complicating the picture for the Federal Reserve. The central bank paused its rate-cutting cycle last month as it waits for data to give an all-clear sign to keep easing monetary policy.

The monthly consumer price index due on Wednesday offers the latest read on inflation trends, a key investor concern. A survey of over 4,000 traders published this week showed inflation and tariffs are the factors expected to have the biggest sway on markets this year.

“Inflation really is the wildcard for 2025 in terms of how it’s going to impact the interest rate environment,” said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management. “In the event that we have higher inflation, it really reduces the opportunity for the Fed to continue cutting rates, and obviously markets don’t like that.”

The January report is expected to show an 0.3% increase in CPI on a monthly basis, according to a Reuters poll.

Several Wall Street analysts warned that January is traditionally a more challenging period to forecast CPI due to seasonal factors, increasing the potential for market volatility when the data is released.

The pace of inflation has moderated from 40-year highs reached in 2022, allowing the Fed to cut rates last year, but it has not yet subsided to the central bank’s 2% annual target.

“We certainly don’t want to see (CPI) heating up again,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. “That would raise a concern that the Fed funds rate is going to be where it is for longer than we anticipate now.”

Markets are pricing in an over 80% chance that the Fed continues to hold rates steady at its next meeting in March, while roughly two cuts are expected by the end of the year, according to LSEG data.

Expectations for the Fed to stay on hold in March solidified after Friday’s mixed US employment report. Job growth slowed more than expected in January, but an unemployment rate of 4% supported evidence of a healthy labor market.

But some investors are pulling back on expectations for further easing this year. Morgan Stanley economists this week said they now only project one cut this year, in June, as opposed to two before, saying in a note that, “the path for monetary policy in 2025 remains highly uncertain.”

The Morgan Stanley team pointed to tariff uncertainty raising the hurdle for rate cuts. Investors this week grappled with an evolving tariff backdrop, with Trump imposing and then delaying for a month tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, while putting in place a 10% duty on China.

Following initial news of the tariffs on Monday, the Cboe Volatility Index spiked to a one-week high of 20.42 but has since subsided to around 15.

“Early in the second Trump administration, tariff threats have revived market volatility,” Lawrence Gillum, chief fixed income strategist at LPL Financial, said in a written commentary on Thursday.

The Fed’s rate view could become clearer when Chair Jerome Powell testifies before Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Corporate earnings reports will also be in focus in the coming week, with results due from Coca-Cola, Cisco, and McDonald’s.

With over half of the S&P 500 reported, fourth-quarter earnings were on track to have climbed 12.7% from a year earlier, up from an estimate of 9.6% growth at the start of January, according to LSEG IBES.

Earnings season overall has been a positive factor for stocks despite uncertainty around tariffs, said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial.

“Commentary from a lot of different industries has been solid,” Saglimbene said. “Demand drivers remain intact.”

(Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf and Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; Editing by Rod Nickel)

US yields rise as bond market steadies ahead of payrolls

NEW YORK – US Treasury yields edged higher on Thursday, recovering from sharp declines in the previous session, as the bond market stabilized a bit, with the US having temporarily averted a disastrous trade war with Canada and Mexico.

The tariff threat, however, remains a lingering concern, with China’s import duties on US goods set to take effect on February 10.

“The market is not only going to be data-dependent, but also policy-dependent,” said Vishal Khanduja, portfolio manager and head of broad markets fixed income at Morgan Stanley Investment Management in Boston. “At this time, fiscal policy will drive quite a bit of the volatility and the direction for the markets as well.”

Aside from tariffs, Khanduja expects news on fiscal deficits, taxes, and deregulation to also stoke bond market volatility.

In afternoon trading, US benchmark 10-year yield edged higher to 4.438%, up 1.8 basis points (bps).

US 30-year yield also inched up at 4.648%.

On the front end of the curve, the US two-year yield rose 2.3 bps to 4.208%.

Market participants are now looking ahead to Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report for January, with a Reuters poll forecasting 170,000 new jobs created, down from 256,000 in December.

Friday’s report will also include the annual benchmark payrolls revision to the establishment survey and updated population controls in the household survey. The preliminary estimate of the benchmark revision showed a downward adjustment of 818,000 to cumulative payrolls growth from the period of April 2023 to March 2024.

“This particular series … will offer context on the impact of immigration and provide a rough road map of the potential downside impact on payrolls in the event that (President Donald) Trump is successful with his immigration agenda,” BMO Capital Markets in a research note.

Treasuries showed little reaction to Thursday’s economic data pointing to a rise in US jobless claims and a lower-than-expected productivity in the fourth quarter.

A report from the Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 11,000 to 219,000 for the week ended February 1. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 213,000 claims for the latest week.

Another piece of data showed US worker productivity growth slowed more than expected in the fourth quarter, driving up labor costs. Nonfarm productivity, measuring the hourly output per worker, increased at a 1.2% annualized rate last quarter after growing at an upwardly revised 2.3% pace in the July-September quarter.

Post-data, US rate futures have priced in about 46 bps of easing this year, or nearly two rate cuts of 25 bps each. The percentage has been in the 45% range for most of the week, according to LSEG calculations. The Fed is expected to be on hold for several policy meetings, but will likely resume cutting rates again either in June or July.

The US yield curve, meanwhile, earlier flattened on Thursday, with the spread between two-year and 10-year yields hitting 20.6 bps, the narrowest gap since December 23. The curve was last at 23 bps, slightly up from 22.7 bps late Wednesday.

Yield curves typically steepen, with an upwardly sloping shape, in the midst of an easing cycle. That remains a popular trade in the bond market.

But since hitting its steepest level since early May 2022 of 42.60 bps in mid-January, the curve has steadily flattened or declined.

Robert Tipp, chief investment strategist and head of global bonds at PGIM Fixed Income in New York, said the curve flattening, which meant having lower long-dated yields compared with those on the short end, over the last two days was due in part to the Treasury’s refunding announcement.

The Treasury announced on Wednesday it would keep auction sizes unchanged in notes and bonds through the April quarter, but did not provide guidance as to when it would increase them.

“Given that there is the fear … of deficits, the follow-on fear is reduced bill issuance and more long-term Treasury issuance,” said Tipp. “That was deferred. The markets were relieved that the Treasury is not pushing … more duration on them.”

(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Matthew Lewis)

Gold halts record rally, drops 1% as US jobs report looms

Gold prices slid 1% on Thursday as the US dollar firmed ahead of a key jobs report and investors took profits, after bullion recorded consecutive record peaks in the previous five sessions on the back of escalating trade tensions between the US and China.

Spot gold slipped 0.4% to USD 2,853.16 per ounce by 01:50 p.m. ET (1850 GMT) after hitting an all-time high of USD 2,882.16 on Wednesday. US gold futures settled 0.6% lower at USD 2,876.70.

“There’s probably a combination of a stronger dollar, some profit taking and yields moving a little bit higher off their lows,” weighing on gold ahead of the US employment report, said Daniel Pavilonis, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.

Nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 170,000 jobs after surging to 256,000 in December, a Reuters survey of economists showed. The unemployment rate is forecast unchanged at 4.1%.

A resilient labor market is fuelling economic growth and allowing the Federal Reserve to halt interest rate cuts as it evaluates the inflationary effects of Trump’s fiscal, trade and immigration policies.

“In addition to the volatility in general, we still have inflation in the background that’s starting to creep up, so gold is responding as a safe haven,” said Alex Ebkarian, chief operating officer at Allegiance Gold.

“Gold is on its way for USD 2,900, and you have very strong sentiment despite the fact that in the short term, the dollar gained strength.”

On a technical basis, gold’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands above 70, indicating that the metal is overbought.

Meanwhile, the stock of gold at the Bank of England has fallen by about 2% since the end of last year, its Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden said, citing strong demand for gold stored at the bank to take advantage of international price differentials.

In other metals, spot silver dropped 0.1% to USD 32.27 per ounce, and palladium fell 1.4% to USD 975.59. Platinum rose 0.7% to USD 985.98.

(Reporting by Anmol Choubey and Swati Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid, Vijay Kishore and Mohammed Safi Shamsi)

Yen hits 8-week high, sterling drops after Bank of England rate cut

NEW YORK – The yen touched an eight-week high versus the dollar on Thursday after a Bank of Japan policy board member advocated continued interest rate hikes, while sterling slid as the Bank of England cut rates.

The pound fell sharply after the Bank of England cut interest rates as expected, but forecast higher inflation and weaker growth, with two officials calling for an even larger rate cut.

Sterling later pared some of those losses, having touched a one-month high on Wednesday. It was last down 0.54% at USD 1.2438.

Money markets now price in around 67 basis points of further BoE easing by the end of the year.

“The pound’s losses may prove somewhat limited: the services-driven British economy is largely sheltered against trade war risks,” Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist with payments company Corpay in Toronto, said in a research note.

The dollar index was up against a basket of peers at 107.69, but it still hovered near the lowest level since the start of last week, with investors beginning to entertain prospects that a global trade war could be averted.

In the absence of tariff headlines, markets looked ahead to the release on Friday of key US monthly payrolls figures, the next major test for the US monetary policy outlook.

The dollar index hit a two-year high of 110.17 on January 13, but has since retreated 2%.

“Driving this correction have been several factors, the largest of which has probably been this week’s tariff news, where it looks like the Trump administration has been using tariffs for transactional not ideological purposes,” said Chris Turner, global head of markets at ING.

US President Donald Trump suspended planned tariff measures against Mexico and Canada this week, but imposed additional 10% levies on imports from China.

YEN STRENGTH

The yen strengthened as far as 151.81 per dollar – the strongest level since December 12 – in the Tokyo morning, after the BOJ’s Naoki Tamura said the central bank must raise rates to at least 1% or so in the latter half of fiscal 2025 with upward risks to prices rising.

Japan’s currency was last changing hands at 151.335 per dollar, up 0.82% on the previous day, paring some of the early gains after Tamura clarified that he didn’t mean that the neutral rate should be 1%.

“There seems to be a good amount of yen buying pressure today (Thursday). Not really sure what’s driving that, but it’s been very correlated to rates, and that’s breaking down just a little bit today,” said Brad Bechtel, global head of FX at Jefferies in New York.

The market is currently pricing in a quarter-percentage-point BOJ rate hike by September.

“Tamura is known to be on the hawkish side,” although his comments initially “fired up yen longs,” said Shoki Omori, chief global desk strategist at Mizuho Securities.

Conversely, a quarter-percentage-point rate cut by the Federal Reserve is fully priced in for July, with markets expecting a total of 46 basis points of reductions by the December meeting, according to LSEG data.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that while Trump wants lower interest rates, he will not ask the Fed to cut rates.

Canada’s loonie was at C$ 1.431 versus its US counterpart after rising to the highest level since December 17 at C$ 1.4270 overnight. The Mexican peso was down 0.45% at 20.474 per dollar.

The euro edged down 0.19% to USD 1.0382.

(Reporting by Hannah Lang in New York; additional reporting by Greta Rosen Fondahn and Kevin Buckland; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Mark Potter, Susan Fenton, Will Dunham, and Paul Simao)

Oil settles down after Trump repeats pledge to boost US supply

Oil prices settled lower on Thursday after US President Donald Trump repeated a pledge to raise US oil production, unnerving traders a day after the country reported a much bigger-than-anticipated jump in crude stockpiles.

Brent crude futures fell 32 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at USD 74.29 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 42 cents, or 0.6%, to USD 70.61.

On Thursday, Trump repeated a pledge to boost US production, already the highest in the world, in a bid to lower oil prices and ease consumer inflation.

Oil prices gave up early gains after Trump’s comments. Still, analysts have questioned whether US oil producers will be willing to pump more barrels in the current market.

“There is no indication of accelerating US drilling activity,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said, noting he was surprised by the market reaction to Trump’s comments.

Oil prices were also under pressure from swelling US crude inventories. Benchmarks fell 2% on Wednesday after US government data showed domestic crude stockpiles rose by 8.7 million barrels last week, well above analysts’ expectations of a 2 million-barrel increase.

Macquarie analysts said they expect another large build in US crude stocks this week.

TRADE SET TO REMAIN VOLATILE

Trading was volatile. Prices started the session higher after Saudi Arabia’s state oil company sharply raised prices for buyers in Asia. Prices also drew support from new US sanctions against individuals and entities for facilitating shipments of Iranian oil to China.

“The notice is out – if you’re a refiner or shipper moving Iranian oil, any part of it, you’re at risk of getting whacked by the Treasury,” Flynn said.

In the near-term, oil markets are expected to remain choppy, with global trade pressured by Trump’s rapidly changing decisions on tariffs and sanctions.

On Monday, Trump suspended his threat of steep tariffs on Mexico and Canada, but new duties on Chinese imports came into effect from Tuesday.

Trump reimposed a ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against Iran, yet also said he was open to a deal with Tehran.

“The only certainty is that comments from President Trump will continue to drive volatility in the oil market,” UBS’s Staunovo said.

Global benchmark Brent crude has tumbled over 8% since Trump took office on January 20, while WTI has dropped over 7%.

(Reporting by Shariq Khan; Additional reporting by Paul Carsten, Ahmad Ghaddar, Colleen Howe, and Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by David Goodman, Susan Fenton, Deepa Babington, and David Gregorio)

India eyes historic rate cut, global easing momentum mounts

Investors are anticipating India’s first interest rate cut in nearly five years on Friday, which would be the latest move from major central banks around the world that points to a renewed desire to loosen policy and lower borrowing costs.

The obvious exceptions are the US Federal Reserve, which has paused its easing cycle, and the Bank of Japan, which is gradually raising rates, albeit from virtually zero.

But the Reserve Bank of India’s decision comes amid growing concern worldwide over the potential damage to economic activity and growth from US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.

The Bank of England and Bank of Mexico cut interest rates on Thursday, and there was an element of dovish surprise to both – the BoE’s decision to lower rates by 25 basis points was expected but two policymakers voted to cut 50 bps, while Banxico said its 50 bps cut could be repeated at future meetings.

US Treasury yields, meanwhile, have fallen below 4.50% as worries about US growth bubble up again, and a soft employment report on Friday will bring 4.00% closer into view than 5.00%.

Economists polled by Reuters expect the Reserve Bank of India to cut its key repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% in Governor Sanjay Malhotra’s first monetary policy review, as it attempts to shore up flagging growth.

India isn’t in Trump’s immediate line of protectionist fire but policymakers won’t be complacent. India’s trade surplus with the US has doubled in five years to the current USD 45 billion, and the rupee’s persistent weakness ties the RBI’s hands in the event of further tariff-led appreciation of the dollar.

The rupee is one of the worst-performing emerging currencies against the dollar this year, trading at an all-time low below 87.00 per dollar. A rate cut is widely expected so it should be in the rupee’s price, leaving all eyes on the new governor’s guidance.

Asia’s economic calendar on Friday includes foreign exchange reserves from several countries including China, inflation data from Taiwan and, perhaps more importantly in the current climate, January trade figures from Taiwan also.

Taiwan’s trade deficit with the US last year widened to USD 74 billion, meaning it has virtually quadrupled in six years.

Taiwan said this week it will support companies that plan to relocate to the United States, including helping them find partners. Taiwan is home to chipmaker TSMC, which has a USD 65 billion investment in the US to build factories in Arizona.

Wall Street’s main indices essentially trod water on Thursday, offering little direction to Asia on Friday. But Amazon shares fell as much as 5% in after-hours trade as investors gave the company’s Q4 earnings an initial thumbs down.

Here are key developments that could provide more direction to Asian markets on Friday:

– India rate decision

– Taiwan trade (January)

– China FX reserves

(By Jamie McGeever, editing by Deepa Babington)

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