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May 11 (Reuters) – Crown Asia Chemicals:
QTRLY NET INCOME AFTER TAX 75.6 MILLION PESOS VERSUS 54.7 MILLION PESOS
QTRLY GROSS REVENUE 514.6 MILLION PESOS VERSUS 410.1 MILLION PESOS
Source text for Eikon: ID:nPSX7FZzny
Further company coverage: CROWN.PS
May 11 (Reuters) – Filinvest REIT:
FY NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE 1.86 BILLION PESOS VERSUS 1.86 BILLION PESOS
FY GROSS REVENUE 3.44 BILLION PESOS VERSUS 3.88 BILLION PESOS
Source text for Eikon: ID:nPSX80qW3C
Further company coverage: FILRT.PS
Adds economists’ comment, background
By Liz Lee and Rozanna Latiff
KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 (Reuters) – Malaysia’s central bank unexpectedly raised its benchmark interest rate from an historic low on Wednesday, to cool inflationary pressures as the Southeast Asian country continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) raised its overnight policy rate MYINTR=ECI to 2% from a record low of 1.75% where it has been since July 2020.
A Reuters poll of 18 economists had largely expected rates to remain unchanged, with the central bank likely to start tightening next quarter to avert rising inflationary pressures. Only four of the economists had forecast a rate hike. nL3N2WX35K
The central bank said the latest indicators showed that economic growth was on a firmer footing and that the unprecedented conditions during the pandemic that necessitated the easing of rates have since abated.
“The inflation outlook continues to be subject to global commodity price developments, arising mainly from the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine and prolonged supply-related disruptions, as well as domestic policy measures on administered prices,” the central bank said.
It added, however, that upward pressure on prices would partly be contained by existing government price controls and spare capacity in the economy.
Headline inflation was projected to average between 2.2% – 3.2% this year, unchanged from its earlier estimate.
Capital Economics’ Asia economist Alex Holmes said BNM’s rate hike, while sooner than expected, should not be taken as a signal of aggressive tightening.
“While the economy should continue to recover in the coming quarters, there is still a long way to go,” he said in a note.
Holmes expects two more rate hikes of 25 basis points each, spaced over the rest of the year, with another at the start of 2023.
OCBC Bank economist Wellian Wiranto expects BNM’s next hike to come in September, allowing the central bank “space to gauge whether upside risk to inflation or downside risk to growth will be the greater foe, before deciding on whether to hike further from there.”
The ringgit MYR= rose 0.1% while Malaysian share index .KLSE rose as much as 0.3% after the rate hike.
Malaysia’s economic growth likely gathered pace in the last quarter, driven by stronger demand following a relaxation of COVID-19 measures, but a prolonged slowdown in China could have significant knock-on effects, according to a Reuters poll published on Wednesday.
Stronger exports, which bodes well for domestic manufacturers, suggests foreign trade remains a growth engine for Malaysia which can also expect rising demand for its palm oil after top producer Indonesia temporarily banned shipments last month to tame soaring domestic cooking oil prices. nL3N2X114Q
Malaysia’s first quarter economic data is due to be released this Friday.
Bank Negara trimmed its 2022 economic growth forecast in March to between 5.3%-6.3%, noting that the country’s recovery will be slightly offset by the expected impact of the Russia-Ukraine war. nL3N2VW20N
Malaysia’s economy returned to growth in the October-December quarter, expanding 3.6% from a year earlier, with the central bank expecting the rebound to continue this year despite risks of further disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. nL1N2UM08D
(Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
((liz.lee@thomsonreuters.com; +603 23338008; Twitter: @livinglizly;))
May 11 (Reuters) – Rizal Commercial Banking Corp RCB.PS:
UNAUDITED CONSOL NET INCOME 2.1 BILLION PESOS FOR Q1, UP 36%
Source text for Eikon: ID:nPSX1ZfpF7
Further company coverage: RCB.PS
May 10 (Reuters) – Gold prices reversed course and fell on Tuesday as the dollar resumed strengthening, while investors shifted their attention to U.S. inflation data for cues on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy strategy.
Spot gold was down 0.5% at USD 1,844.95 per ounce by 01:52 p.m. EDT (1752 GMT), after rising as much as 0.6% earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures settled down 1% at USD 1,841.00.
The dollar index gained 0.2%, holding near a 20-year high in the previous session. Meanwhile, benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields retreated from their near four-year peaks.
“Initially, gold was showing signs it was possibly stabilizing, but investors are still nervous ahead of inflation data on how aggressive the Fed will be,” said Edward Moya, a senior analyst with OANDA.
“The dollar strength is hurting gold… Even though we see a pause in the bond market sell-off, it seems clear that investors will not immediately jump back into gold,” he added.
Investors await the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) data due on Wednesday to gauge its likely impact on the Fed’s rate hike plans.
The Fed’s aim of bringing inflation down without derailing the economy is challenging but doable amid heightened uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine and COVID-19 pandemic, New York Fed President John Williams said.
“Williams’ comments reflect a little pull back from the hawkishness (with regards to) the rate hikes moving forward,” said Bob Haberkron, RJO Futures senior market strategist.
Gold is considered a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainties. However, it is highly sensitive to rising U.S. interest rates, which raise the opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing bullion.
Spot silver fell 1.2% to USD 21.53 per ounce, platinum gained 1.5% to USD 970.02 and palladium fell 1% to USD 2,077.19.
(Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Krishna Chandra Eluri)
JAKARTA, May 10 (Reuters) – The decisive victory of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the Philippines’ presidential election on Monday is set to re-shape the Southeast Asian country’s relations with China and the United States as he seeks closer ties with Beijing.
Marcos, the son and namesake of the country’s former dictator, has long-standing ties with China and is seeking a new deal with Chinese ruler Xi Jinping over the contested waters of the South China Sea.
Marcos’s relations with the United States, on the other hand, are complicated by a contempt of court order for his refusal to co-operate with the District Court of Hawaii, which in 1995 ordered the Marcos family to pay USD 2 billion of plundered wealth to victims of Marcos Sr.’s rule.
The Philippines is a fulcrum of the geopolitical rivalry between the U.S. and China, with its maritime territory encompassing part of the South China Sea, a strategic and resource-rich waterway over which China also claims sovereignty.
In 2016, an arbitral tribunal constituted under the International Law of the Sea ruled in favour of the Philippines over China’s claim, a decision seized upon by other claimant states, as well as the U.S. and its allies concerned by China’s construction of military installations on islands in the waters.
But in interviews during the election campaign, Marcos said the ruling was “not effective” because China did not recognise it. He would seek a bilateral agreement with China to resolve their differences, he said.
“If you let the U.S. come in, you make China your enemy,” he told DZRH Radio. “I think we can come to an agreement (with China). As a matter of fact, people from the Chinese embassy are my friends. We have been talking about that.”
Antonio Carpio, the former Supreme Court Judge who led the Philippines’ legal team at the arbitral tribunal, said Marcos’s stance was a “betrayal”.
“He’s taken the side of China against the Philippines,” he said.
Rommel Banlaoi, a Manila-based security expert, said Marcos, also known as Bongbong, wanted friendlier ties with China but not at the expense of ceding territory.
“He’s open to direct consultations and bilateral negotiations with China to settle their differences,” he said. “He is willing to explore areas of pragmatic co-operation with China, including the development of natural gas and oil in the West Philippines Sea.”
The West Philippines Sea is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, but is also claimed by China. There have been repeated clashes between vessels belonging to the two countries in the area in recent years.
‘FOND MEMORIES’
Marcos is also keen to attract investment from China for his ambitious infrastructure agenda, said Banlaoi. “The Marcoses have very fond memories of their trips to China.”
Marcos’s father ruled the Philippines for 20 years until 1986 and was a close U.S. ally but began engaging with China after diplomatic relations were established in 1975.
A year earlier, Marcos Jr., then 18, accompanied his mother Imelda to Beijing in a historic trip that paved the way for the diplomatic detente. Footage of the trip shows the beaming youngster meeting Chinese leader Mao Zedong.
It was the first of many visits. In a cable sent to Washington D.C. in March 2007, obtained by WikiLeaks, the U.S. embassy reported that Marcos “travelled frequently to the PRC in 2005 and 2006 to drum up business”.
A month after the cable was written, China opened a consulate in Laoag City, capital of the family’s fiefdom in the province of Ilocos Norte, where Marcos was governor. Laoag City has a population of just 102,000 in a country of almost 110 million people and is one of two consulates outside the capital Manila.
‘COERCION AND AGGRESSION’
The United States has upped its engagement in Southeast Asia, and the Philippines, in recent months, to combat China’s “coercion and aggression” in the region.
In March and April, more than 5,000 U.S. military personnel undertook exercises with their Philippine counterparts, the largest in seven years.
Renato Cruz De Castro, an international affairs analyst at De la Salle university in Manila, said the manoeuvres highlighted how strategic imperatives had forced outgoing Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to build strong relations with Washington despite his hostility to the country’s former coloniser. Soon after he was elected, Duterte called for the Philippines’ “separation” from the U.S. and courted China.
“Duterte realized that, whether you appease or challenge China, it doesn’t matter. They are still going to try to take your maritime territory,” he told Reuters.
“Marcos might have some issues with the United States (but) he will face constraints from his bureaucrats and the armed forces who really value the alliance.”
U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during a press briefing on Tuesday it was too early to comment on the results of the Philippines election or the impact it might have on relations, but said “we look forward to renewing our special partnership” and working with a new administration in Manila.
“As friends, as partners, as allies we’ll continue to collaborate closely to advance a free and open, connected, prosperous, secure and resilient Indo-Pacific region,” Price said. “We’ll also continue…to promote respect for human rights and the rule of law, which is fundamental to U.S. relations with the Philippines.”
Marcos hasn’t visited the United States for 15 years, fearful of the consequences given he and his mother are facing a contempt of court ruling and a USD 353 million fine. That’s on top of the USD 2 billion payout he and his mother have been ordered to pay to 9,539 human rights victims, of which only USD 37 million has been recovered, according to the lawyer who launched the class action, Robert Swift.
“Somebody might think and say, ‘OK, Let’s jail this person’. They can do that,” Marcos told a Philippines journalist, Anthony Taberna, in August. “We don’t take that risk anymore.”
A spokesman for Marcos did not immediately respond to requests for comment on his U.S. travel plans as president.
The U.S. State Department and Department of Justice did not respond to requests for comment about whether Marcos would be granted diplomatic immunity if he visited. Swift, for his part, expected that he would get the customary immunity.
“Bongbong Marcos’s apparent victory will be met with disappointment among many in Washington,” said Greg Poling, director of Southeast Asia Studies at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“But it doesn’t change the fact that the U.S.-Philippines alliance is more vital than ever and the United States needs to continue working to deepen it.”
Banlaoi said Marcos would seek to preserve the U.S. alliance but keep his options open.
“Depending on how the bilateral relationship of the Philippines and the U.S. proceeds under BBM, renegotiating the mutual defence treaty remains an option,” he said, using another nickname for Marcos.
(Reporting by Tom Allard; additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis in Washington; Editing by Nick Macfie)
May 10 (Reuters) – Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday fortified their arguments for the swiftest series of interest rate hikes since at least the 1990s to combat inflation, while President Joe Biden urged the U.S. central bank to tame the price increases he said were hurting American households.
“I know that families all across America are hurting because of inflation,” Biden said in a speech from the White House a day before fresh data is expected to show consumer prices still rising at more than an 8% pace. “I want every American to know that I am taking inflation very seriously and it is my top domestic priority.”
Fed officials, now committed to a series of half-percentage-point rate increases, said their aggressive efforts to curb consumer and business demand for goods and services through higher borrowing costs were needed to slow the fastest inflation in 40 years.
But they also acknowledged it will be a painful ride.
The recent volatility in asset markets is “painful,” Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester told Reuters, but also a necessary part of tightening credit conditions in the economy, a process that involves repricing across the spectrum of assets from corporate equities to single-family homes.
Unemployment might rise, she said. The Fed may even have to take losses on some of its own holdings if it chooses to sell them in such an unpredictable environment in order to shrink its balance sheet faster, a step that could help push interest rates higher than otherwise, Mester added.
“It is going to be a bumpy ride,” she said as the implications of the Fed’s policy shift took fuller shape across the economy through both falling stock values and rising interest rates.
That’s a dose of strong medicine that even Biden seemed willing to accept, choosing the risk of a possibly slowing economy or rise in unemployment over inflation so high right now it is eroding most Americans’ standard of living – and giving his Republican opponents fodder in elections later this year.
“The Fed should do its job and it will do its job, I’m convinced,” Biden said.
GLOBAL RECESSION FEARS
Although the Fed last week raised its benchmark overnight lending rate by half a percentage point to a target range between 0.75% and 1%, economists are debating whether it has fallen so far behind in its monetary tightening that it now needs to act so fast and raise borrowing costs so high that it may provoke a recession.
“We live in the most chaotic, hard-to-predict macroeconomic times in decades. The ingredients for a global recession are on the table,” Seth Carpenter, global chief economist at Morgan Stanley, wrote on Sunday. Though the United States may avoid a recession, “markets will have to confront the rising probability of one.”
New data on Wednesday will provide an updated view of consumer prices that may show some slowing, but not enough yet to turn Fed policymakers away from their path of higher rates.
That includes 50-basis-point rate increases in June and July, then further hikes through the rest of the year at a pace and to a level still to be determined.
New York Fed President John Williams, speaking earlier on Tuesday, agreed that the price of bringing down inflation may be a slight rise in the U.S. jobless rate, currently at 3.6% and indicative of a labor market that by many measures is the strongest in 50 years.
“When I think of a ‘soft landing,’ it’s really a matter of, yes we could see growth below trend for a while and we definitely could see unemployment moving up somewhat but not in a huge way,” Williams said at an economics conference organized by Germany’s central bank in Eltville am Rhein, Germany. “I think that’s the challenge.”
Speaking to a local chamber of commerce in North East, Maryland, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said that after the coming rate hikes the central bank would be in a position to determine whether inflation remained at a level requiring the brakes to be put on the economy or not.
“We will do what we need to do,” Barkin said.
(By Ann Saphir and Howard Schneider; Additional reporting by Francesco Canepa, Lindsay Dunsmuir and Jeff Mason;
Editing by Paul Simao)
HOUSTON, May 10 (Reuters) – U.S. crude oil price settled below USD 100 a barrel on Tuesday to its lowest level in two weeks as the demand outlook was pressured by coronavirus lockdowns in China and growing recession risks, while a strong dollar made crude more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled down USD 3.33, or 3.2%, to USD 99.76 a barrel, while Brent crude was down USD 3.48, or 3.28%, at USD 102.46 a barrel. Both benchmarks were down for a second straight day and fell by more than USD 4 a barrel earlier on Tuesday.
Wall Street’s main indexes also turned lower in volatile trading on concerns over aggressive monetary policy tightening and slowing economic growth.
Early in the session, comments from the Saudi and UAE energy ministers boosted Brent and WTI up by more than USD 1 a barrel.
“These are volatile times, the daily price bars are outsized these days,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC.
“As the EU continues to dither over whether or not they are going to embargo that Russian oil, that changes the calculus very much as well in both directions,” he added.
The European Union Commission has delayed acting on the proposal. Unanimity is required to ban oil imports from Russia, and while a French minister said EU members could reach a deal this week, Hungary has dug in its heels opposing an embargo.
Also, some European economies could suffer distress if Russian oil imports were curtailed further. If Russia retaliated by cutting off gas supplies, economies in emerging Europe, Central Asia and North Africa might slide back to pre-pandemic levels, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) warned.
In addition to the recent G7 gradual import ban on Russian oil, Japan, which obtained 4% of its oil imports from Russia last year, has agreed to phase out those purchases. The timing and method have yet to be decided.
“The combination of COVID-related lockdowns in China and worldwide interest rate increases to battle inflation put equity investors on the back foot, strengthened the dollar and significantly raised concerns of economic slowdown,” said Tamas Varga of broker PVM Oil Associates.
With a steep fall in demand in China due to the lockdowns and discounted Russian barrels in the market, China gets to be more selective in the crude oil it buys, said Robert Yawger, executive director of energy futures at Mizuho.
Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester said raising U.S. interest rates in half-percentage-point increments “makes perfect sense” for the next couple of U.S. central bank policy meetings, while Bundesbank chief Joachim Nagel said the European Central Bank should raise interest rates in July.
The dollar held near a two-decade high ahead of a reading on inflation that could hint at the outlook for Fed policy.
On the supply side, the U.S. Energy Information Administration trimmed its U.S. crude oil production forecasts for 2022 and 2023. It now expects output in 2022 to average 11.9 million barrels per day (bpd) compared with its previous estimate of 12 million bpd.
Crude stocks rose by 1.6 million barrels for the week ended May 6, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures, while analysts polled by Reuters had expected a draw of 500,000 barrels.
European refiners’ crude and oil products stocks stood at about 1 billion barrels in April, down 10.3% on a year-on-year basis but nearly the same level as in March, Euroilstock data showed. Middle distillate stocks fell by 15.4% on the year in April, and by almost 3% from March, the data showed.
(By Arathy Somasekhar; Additional reporting by Rowena Edwards in London, Florence Tan in Singapore and Laura Sanicola in New York; editing by Jason Neely, David Evans, David Gregorio, Paul Simao and Cynthia Osterman)
NEW YORK, May 10 (Reuters) – Wall Street closed higher on Tuesday as investors waited for inflation data and worried about the prospects of slowing economic growth and the impact of policy tightening.
U.S. Treasuries rallied, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note tumbling from a more than three-year high to below 3% as investors reassessed the inflation outlook before U.S. consumer price index (CPI) data is released Wednesday.
U.S. crude oil futures dipped below USD 100 a barrel to their lowest level in two weeks as the demand outlook was clouded by coronavirus lockdowns in China and growing recession concerns, while a strong dollar made crude more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
Markets have been volatile across asset classes due to a combination of surging inflation and fears that monetary tightening aimed at slowing price increases would cause a slowdown in global economic growth.
Last week, central banks in the United States, Britain and Australia raised interest rates and investors girded for more tightening as policymakers fought soaring inflation.
After turning red for a few hours earlier in the session, the S&P closed up slightly while Nasdaq added almost 1%. Technology, the market’s biggest growth sector, was leading gains as investors reacted to falling bond yields and bounced back after a furious sell-off on Monday.
“If we’ve seen the worst of the rate of change from long-term interest rates, it may create room for equities to do a little bit better,” said Sameer Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute in St. Louis.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 84.96 points, or 0.26%, to 32,160.74, the S&P 500 gained 9.81 points, or 0.25%, to 4,001.05 and the Nasdaq Composite added 114.42 points, or 0.98%, to 11,737.67.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.08%.
Matthew Miskin, co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management, was reassured by policy makers including Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester. While Mester said unemployment may increase and growth may slow, she added that tightening should not cause a “sustained downturn.”
“They’ve been so hawkish so any slight move off that the market wants to sniff that out,” said Miskin. “Sentiment wise, a lot of people are looking for capitulation. The dots aren’t completely connecting yet for that.”
The U.S. dollar was choppy on Tuesday but held near a two-decade high ahead of the hotly anticipated inflation data which could provide insight on the Fed policy path.
The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, was last up 0.193%, with the euro down 0.24% to USD 1.053.
“It’s the calm before inflation data tomorrow, so this is allowing a breather for risky assets,” said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions in Washington, D.C. with trader positioning that was “working in the favor of risk assets.”
The Japanese yen weakened 0.10% versus the greenback at 130.40 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at USD 1.2314, down 0.14% on the day.
Oil prices fell in volatile trade as the market balanced impending European Union sanctions on Russian oil with demand concerns related to coronavirus lockdowns in China, a strong dollar and growing recession risks.
U.S. crude recently fell 3.35% to USD 99.64 per barrel and Brent was at USD 102.26, down 3.47% on the day.
Earlier data showed China’s export growth slowed to its weakest in almost two years, as the central bank pledged to step up support for the slowing economy.
Benchmark 10-year notes last rose 22/32 in price to yield 2.9947%, down from 3.079% late on Monday.
“It’s a risk recalibration. There’s no other catalyst, other than it’s gone too far, too fast,” George Goncalves, head of U.S. macro strategy at MUFG Securities said, referring to yields. “Maybe we’re going to get a period of inflation that won’t be just heading higher unabatedly.”
Spot gold dropped 1.0% to USD 1,835.86 an ounce as investors eyed the rising dollar and waited for Wednesday’s inflation data.
Elsewhere, bitcoin was up 3.7% after earlier falling to its lowest level since July 2021. Tuesday’s gain recovered some losses from its 11.8% plunge on Monday.
(Reporting by Sinéad Carew; Additional reporting by Herbert Lash and Chuck Mikolajczak in New York, Elizabeth Howcroft in London; Editing by Alexander Smith, Nick Macfie and Lisa Shumaker)
Adds Erdogan comment
ISTANBUL, May 11 (Reuters) – The Turkish lira eased a further 0.85% against the dollar on Wednesday, weakening for a fifth session and bringing the currency back towards the lows it hit in late December after a series of unorthodox interest rate cuts.
The lira TRYTOM=D3 weakened as far as 15.38 in morning trade from a close of 15.2490 on Tuesday. It stood at 15.3405 at 1157 GMT.
A currency crisis late last year sent the lira to a record low of 18.4 on Dec. 20, triggering state measures to underpin the lira through a scheme to protect lira deposits against depreciation and major forex market interventions.
Following a 44% slide in 2021, the lira has dipped another 14% this year after a long period of stability was upset by concerns about economic fallout from the war in Ukraine, which sent Turkey’s already-hefty energy import bill soaring.
The Turkish central bank sold $3.296 billion in foreign currency in April to Turkey’s state economic enterprises, primarily energy importer Botas, reflecting the rising cost of energy imports. nI7N2W500F
The currency crisis last year was sparked by a series of rate cuts long sought by President Tayyip Erdogan, who supports the unorthodox view that higher interest rates cause inflation. The lira’s depreciation stoked inflation, which hit 70% in April.
Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey had been fighting against “attacks” through exchange rates and interest rates for a long time. He said Turks were facing a high cost of living, adding that economic problems were temporary.
(Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Daren Butler and Bernadette Baum)
((ezgi.erkoyun@thomsonreuters.com; +90-212-350 7051; Reuters Messaging: ezgi.erkoyun.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net;))
