Aurelia Butler

Suzuki also said authorities were watching the speed, rather than the levels, of the yen’s moves. He repeated Tokyo’s recent warnings that authorities would not rule out any steps to respond to disorderly currency moves.”Given how the yen’s declines are continuing despite the interest rate gap narrowing, albeit modestly, suggest that there are speculative moves in the market,” Suzuki told parliament.”It’s important for currency rates to move stably, reflecting fundamentals. Excessive volatility is undesirable, and we are watching market moves from this perspective,” he said.With the BOJ’s policy rate still stuck around zero, expectations the gap between U.S. and Japanese interest rates will remain wide are giving traders an excuse to keep selling yen, analysts say.The yen has been on a downtrend since the Bank of Japan’s decision last week to end eight years of negative interest rates and roll back its radical stimulus programme.The Japanese currency hit a 34-year low against the dollar at 151.975 this week, as markets interpreted the BOJ’s dovish guidance as suggesting that rate hikes will be slow in forthcoming. It has recouped some losses to stand at 151.35 on Friday.Japanese policymakers have historically favoured a weak yen as it helps boost profits at the country’s big manufacturers.But the yen’s sharp declines have recently added to headaches for Tokyo by inflating the cost of raw material imports, hurting consumption and retail profits. More

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The new version, called Grok-1.5, will be made available to early testers and existing Grok users on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in the coming days, xAI said in a statement.The startup said one of the most notable improvements in the new version is its performance in coding and math-related tasks.Seeking an alternative to Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s Google, Musk launched xAI last year to create what he said would be a “maximum truth-seeking AI”. In December, the startup rolled out Grok for Premium+ subscribers of X.Earlier this month, Musk said xAI would open-source Grok, days after the billionaire had sued OpenAI for allegedly abandoning its original mission in favor of a for-profit model. More

TOKYO (Reuters) -Core inflation in Japan’s capital slowed in March and factory output unexpectedly slid in the previous month, heightening uncertainty on how soon the Bank of Japan can raise interest rates again after exiting its radical monetary stimulus.Core consumer price index (CPI) in Tokyo, an early indicator of nationwide figures, rose 2.4% in March from a year earlier, matching a median market forecast and slowing slightly from a 2.5% gain in February.A separate index that excludes the effect of both fresh food and fuel costs, viewed as a broader price trend indicator, also showed inflation slowing to 2.9% in March from 3.1% in February, data showed on Friday.While core inflation is still above the central bank’s 2% target, the slowdown underscores how price pressures in Japan are still predominantly coming from raw material costs rather than robust domestic demand.Separate data showed on Friday Japan’s factory output unexpectedly fell by 0.1% in February from the previous month, against a median market forecast for a 1.4% rise.Manufacturers surveyed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry expect seasonally adjusted output to increase 4.9% in March and rise 3.3% in April, the data showed.The data may point to caution at the BOJ in implementing further interest rate hikes, after ending an eight-year negative interest rate policy last week.The BOJ has said its decision to end negative rates last week was driven by signs that robust demand and the prospect of higher wages were prodding firms to keep hiking prices for both goods and services.BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda has said the central bank could hike rates again if inflation overshoots expectations or upside risks to the price outlook heighten significantly.Big firms have offered bumper pay hikes in this year’s annual wage negotiations, heightening the prospect that Japan will see inflation sustained around the BOJ’s 2% target.But consumption has showed signs of weakness as rising living costs hit households, casting doubt on the strength of Japan’s economy.Factory output also remains weak due to production and shipment disruption at Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) and its small-car unit, which could weigh on the broader economy due to their huge presence in Japan’s manufacturing sector.Japan’s economy expanded an annualised 0.4% in the final quarter of last year, narrowly averting a technical recession as robust capital expenditure offset weaknesses in consumption. More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States is drawing up a list of advanced Chinese chipmaking factories barred from receiving key tools, three people familiar with matter said on Thursday, to make it easier for companies to stem technology flows into China. The list could be released in the next couple of months, one of the people said. The commerce department in 2022 barred U.S. companies from shipping equipment to Chinese factories producing advanced chips, as the U.S. seeks to severely limit Beijing’s technological advances over national security concerns. But companies say it is difficult to pinpoint which factories in China produce advanced chips and have long urged the commerce department to publish a list. The effort shows the United States is taking pains to strengthen its existing chips restrictions on China by making it easier for U.S. firms to comply with restrictions.The commerce department declined to comment. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said the U.S. should “stop overstretching the concept of national security and abusing the state power to suppress Chinese companies.” U.S. officials addressed requests from companies for a list at an annual export controls conference in Washington this week.”People are like: ‘Please, just tell us which are these advanced [factories] that you really care about,'” said one official, who spoke on a panel. “It’s probably not going to be an exhaustive listing, if we can do that. But the more that we can help identify what are these facilities that we have a concern with, hopefully that’s going to help,” the official added. More

By Jessica DiNapoli, Maytaal Angel and Richa NaiduNEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – Hershey, Mondelez (NASDAQ:MDLZ) and other confection-makers are employing promotions and pitching more non-chocolate Easter treats like cookies ‘n’ cream bunnies at a time when soaring cocoa prices threaten their profits and shoppers balk at high prices.With shoppers’ “impulse buys” of chocolate and candy at convenience stores and in grocery checkout lines down, according to industry data, special occasions like Easter and Halloween are increasingly important to the companies’ sales.Cocoa prices have tripled over the past 12 months thanks to bean disease in West Africa, which continues to worsen, meaning companies are not expected to get relief anytime soon. Sugar prices are also up some 7%. Chocolate makers set their plans for this Easter last year, and have said they will hike prices again to cover the cocoa crunch. The companies face additional pressure on their profit margins as their hedges protecting commodity costs expire later this year and next.But, the price hikes are coming at a delicate time as inflation-weary consumers are already pushing back.That makes seasonal sales key. Easter sales of candy in the United States, the world’s biggest chocolate consumer, are expected to at least reach last year’s total of about $5.4 billion, although this will be driven mostly by price increases not volumes sold, according to the National Confectioners Association. Easter is the third-biggest occasion in the United States for buying chocolate and candies, with Halloween taking the top spot, followed by the winter holidays, according to the confectioners association. “People will buy during the holidays, but they will cut out impulse buying,” through the year, said David Branch, a sector manager focusing on cocoa at Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute.Data from the National Confectioners Association shows that last year, the volume of chocolate and candy sold for everyday occasions fell 3.6% compared to 2022. Volumes of chocolate and candy sold for seasonal occasions like Easter rose slightly by 0.1%.Branch projects that given the continued inflation in cocoa, the trend will continue.Hershey is shipping more non-cocoa treats to retailers this Easter in addition to its iconic Reese’s chocolate bunnies and eggs. It is introducing a new six-pack of cookies ‘n’ cream bunnies, offering full-sized Kit Kat lemon crisp bars and mixing Haribo gummy bears with chocolate bars in its assortment bags. Hershey spokesperson Allison Kleinfelter said consumers are continuing to buy seasonal products because parents want to preserve traditions like Easter baskets filled with chocolate bunnies and egg hunts. The non-chocolate Easter offerings have no connection to current cocoa prices, she added.Simon Crowther, marketing director for seasonal confectionery UK at Mondelez told Reuters the Oreo cookie-maker has introduced a new “Cadbury Ultimate Egg” range, and a premium Toblerone “Edgy Egg,” aimed at older families and upmarket shoppers who may be more willing to splurge on chocolate.  PUSHING INVENTORYU.S. retailers have increased discounts on Cadbury, Reese’s, Hershey’s, M&Ms and Lindt this Easter versus last, according to research analytics firm Dataweave. Big box store Target and supermarket chain Kroger (NYSE:KR) are also offering bigger discounts on Easter candy this year compared to last, according to the firm. At Target in New York in early March, Reese’s mini eggs unwrapped, another new product for this season, and bunnies were buy one, get one for 50%.A Kroger spokesperson said the grocer updated its strategy to include more frequent promotions on top-selling brand and pack sizes.John Ament, an independent consultant and former global vice president of cocoa at M&Ms maker Mars, said there is no doubt that chocolate will be more heavily discounted this Easter compared to last because consumers are weary of price increases.Chocolate makers have already pushed through price increases, “So this Easter will be more expensive than last year, and there’s less consumer appetite to spend,” he said.He added that this year’s holiday will be tougher than 2023’s because of the hikes. “The category will see slower if any growth in the coming year,” he said.Chocolate firms tend to hedge their raw material purchases up to 12 months in advance, and with the bulk of the cocoa price surge happening this quarter, current chocolate making costs will come to be seen as low at the end of the year.Even so, it’s getting tougher to push through price hikes. Data from NielsenIQ shows the price per unit of chocolate in the U.S. rose 10.4% in the year to early March, versus a 14.3% gain in the same period a year earlier. A Mondelez’ spokesperson told Reuters that as input costs rise this year, the company will consider not just price hikes but “changing the unit weights” of its chocolates – a technique commonly known as “shrinkflation.”“We’ve had a couple of years now of strong price increases in chocolate and you tend to find in the first year, the elasticity is okay, in the second year it gets worse, and now we’re in a third year, its going to be awful,” said Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Jon Cox.He said premium chocolate makers like Lindt will likely fare better because the already high mark-up on their chocolate means they might be able to hike prices less, in percentage terms, than regular chocolate makers.But he added: “Even they will see sales volume pressure, its not going to be an easy year for them.”Mass-market chocolatiers like Mondelez are also more likely to invest in brands not tied to cocoa, consultant Ament said. The Chicago-based company also sells crackers, cookies and other snacks. More

(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets.Markets in Asia on Friday will be quieter and probably more range-bound than usual with most of the rest of the world closed for Good Friday, but there is always the chance of outsized moves when liquidity is so thin.Especially if Japanese authorities take advantage of the calm to intervene in the currency market and pull the yen up from this week’s 34-year low near 152.00 per dollar. The main event for world markets on Friday is U.S. PCE inflation data which will land when the Asian day is over, and most of Europe and U.S. stock and bond markets are closed for Easter.The first quarter draws to a close with global sentiment riding pretty high after revised fourth quarter U.S. growth and inflation data on Thursday boosted the ‘soft landing’ or even ‘no landing’ scenario.In Asia on Friday, investors face a batch of Japanese indicators including unemployment, retail sales, industrial production and Tokyo inflation. There’s potential for decent moves in the yen – thin liquidity, a raft of top-tier domestic data and the currency already languishing at its lowest levels in decades.A double whammy of soft Tokyo inflation and punchy U.S. inflation could push the dollar back up to 152 yen and test Japan’s resolve. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday waded in to the debate: “We will monitor currency moves with a high sense of urgency and respond appropriately without ruling out any options to deal with excessive currency moves.”Whether Japan wants to trigger a potentially sizeable move in the exchange rate and spike in volatility on the last day of Japan’s fiscal year remains to be seen. But traders will be on their guard.Japanese stocks will be looking to rebound from a 1.5% slump on Thursday but may struggle if the yen strengthens further.Chinese stocks, meanwhile, will be looking just to close the month in the green. They jumped on Thursday after the South China Morning Post reported that President Xi Jinping has urged the central bank to buy government bonds as part of a broader stimulus push.There may be further signs that China is seeking to engage with the international community on trade and business that could boost investor sentiment. After Xi’s meeting this week with top U.S. business leaders, commerce minister Wang Wentao will travel to Europe soon for discussions about the European Commission’s investigation into whether China’s electric vehicle industry has benefited from unfair subsidies. But the property sector black cloud looms large. Several developers on Thursday reported weaker 2023 earnings and Country Garden, China’s largest private developer, said it will delay its 2023 results due to “continuous volatility” in what is an “increasingly complex” sector.Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Friday:- Japan Tokyo inflation (March)- Japan retail sales, industrial production, unemployment (February)- South Korea retail sales, industrial production (February)  (By Jamie McGeever; Editing by Josie Kao) More

Republican Speaker Mike Johnson has held up a bill for months that would supply $60 billion in military and financial aid for Ukraine.”Quick passage of U.S. aid to Ukraine by Congress is vital. We recognise that there are differing views in the House of Representatives on how to proceed, but the key is to keep the issue of aid to Ukraine as a unifying factor,” Zelenskiy said on X.In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said he told Johnson that Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities were “escalating and can only be stopped by the physical force of our defence”.”And it is very important for Congress to maintain its leadership so that the defence of freedom remains an idea that unites – within our countries and in a majority in the world.”Ukrainian troops are on the back foot on the battlefield, facing shortages of artillery supplies with the U.S. assistance held up in Congress and the European Union failing to deliver on time munitions that it had promised earlier. The Ukrainian military said that its top commander, Oleksander Syrskyi, had spoken to the U.S. Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Charles Brown, about battlefield issues.An account of the conversation, on Telegram, said Syrskyi discussed “the question of vital U.S. help for Ukraine”, including strengthening defences against Russian air attacks and building fortifications.Last Friday, Russia conducted its largest air strike on Ukraine’s energy system since invading in February 2022, damaging power units at a major dam and causing blackouts for more than a million people. Moscow has described its recent attacks as part of a series of “revenge” strikes in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian regions. Russia has increased its use of harder-to-stop ballistic missiles. It denies targeting civilians, though many have been killed in its strikes. More