SINGAPORE : Asian stocks inched lower and the dollar was firm on Thursday as looming central bank meetings in Europe and Japan and uncertainty over the supply of Russian gas kept traders on edge.
Market focus is on the resumption of gas flow along the biggest pipeline from Russia to Germany. A planned 10-day outage is set to end at 0400 GMT. If flow isn't resumed, or is lacklustre, it will stoke worries about winter supplies. "They need to be raising rates to deal with the way inflation is embedded," said George Boubouras, head of research at K2 Asset Management in Melbourne.
The Bank of Japan ends a two-day meeting later on Thursday and although no policy change is expected, the outlook will be closely watched as will the reaction in currency and bond markets where some funds have bet on a shift.A cloud over Chinese growth due to its strict COVID-19 controls and fresh concern over stability in the property market is also casting gloom over the prospects for global demand.
"Past due mortgages doubled over the week, and ... potential home buyers are waiting for a general drop in home prices for the housing market, including completed projects," ING analysts said in a note to clients on Thursday.China's yuan was under pressure in morning trade at 6.7700 to the dollar. Against other currencies the greenback steadied after dipping earlier in the week. The Australian dollar bought $0.6890.
United States United States Latest News, United States United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »