Aurelia Butler

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s household spending fell in March for the first time in three months, though the drop was smaller than expected, as consumers remained wary of rising living costs despite some easing of COVID-19 curbs.Household spending declined 2.3% in March from a year earlier, government data showed on Tuesday, slower than Reuters’ median market estimate for a 2.8% drop and following 1.1% growth in the previous month.On a seasonally-adjusted, month-on-month basis, spending rose 4.1% in March, stronger than the forecast 2.6% growth.Japan’s consumer inflation is at a multi-year-high, fanned by the war in Ukraine and the yen’s rapid decline to 20-year-lows.In March, Japanese real wages fell for the first time in three months as inflation outstripped steady nominal wage growth.Economists expect the world’s third-largest economy to have contracted an annualised 0.7% in the January-March quarter, followed by a 5.1% rebound in April-June, according to the latest Reuters poll. More

UK retail sales fell in April as shoppers tightened their belts in response to the cost of living crisis, according to new industry data.Figures compiled by advisory services firm KPMG with the British Retail Consortium, an industry body, showed that retail sales fell at an annual rate of 0.3 per cent in April, the first decline in 15 months and down from a 3.1 per cent expansion the previous month.BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said that “the rising cost of living has crushed consumer confidence and put the brakes on consumer spending”.She added that big-ticket items had been hit hardest, as consumers have reined in spending on furniture, electricals and other homeware. Spending on these items was also hit by delays to imported goods, because of supply chain disruption and Chinese lockdowns. The annual comparison in April was dragged down by the reopening of many shops last year but also boosted by rising prices as BRC data is not adjusted for inflation.Given that inflation is running at the highest pace in 30 years, “the small drop in sales masked a much larger drop in volumes once inflation is accounted for”, the BRC said.

Compared with April 2019, before the pandemic, retail sales were up 3.9 per cent, a sharp slowdown from the 5.4 per cent expansion in the previous month and the lowest figure this year.Official data showed that retail sales contracted in February and March as the cost of living crisis hit household incomes. The latest figures are fuelling economists’ concerns of a further slowdown in economic growth in April and the rest of the year.Economists polled by Reuters expect the UK economy to have barely changed in March, while last week the Bank of England warned of the risk of recession over the next two years. Consumer spending data tracked by Barclaycard, the payments company, which monitors nearly half of all UK credit and debit card transactions, also show weakening growth in April in many sectors despite its figures also not being adjusted for inflation. Spending growth was down for takeaway food, bars, pubs and clubs and for digital content subscriptions, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. However, both sets of data also reported some sectors doing better thanks to the reopening of international travel, the improved weather and Queen Elizabeth II’s forthcoming platinum jubilee.Spending on clothing rose according to both sets of data, while the BRC also noted that garden goods saw stronger sales.Barclaycard reported that spending on travel agents and airlines recorded significant improvements, declining just 3.5 per cent and 9.9 per cent, respectively, compared with April 2019, up strongly from March’s contractions of 10.7 per cent and 12 per cent.Spending on hotels, resorts and accommodation also reported the fastest growth since September last year.But Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG, said that overall “the retail sector has a bumpy time ahead as stores face spiralling cost pressures from all directions”.

Video: How seafood restaurants are fighting inflation More

WASHINGTON/TOKYO (Reuters) -President Joe Biden’s visit to Japan this month is expected to coincide with the formal launch of a new U.S. economic strategy for the Indo-Pacific, even as China seeks “very aggressively” to fill a void since Washington quit a regional trade pact, Tokyo’s ambassador to the United States said on Monday.Ambassador Koji Tomita told an event hosted by Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies that Japan and the United States had been working on the details of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which, he said, needed to strike a balance between inclusivity and high standards.Asian countries are keen to boost ties with the United States, but have been frustrated by its delay in detailing plans for economic engagement with the region since former President Donald Trump quit a regional trade pact in 2017.Biden, who is to visit South Korea and Japan from May 20 to May 24, announced the plan for IPEF last year. In announcing its strategy for the Indo-Pacific region in February, the administration said the plan was to launch IPEF in early 2022.Tomita said Biden’s visit would send a powerful signal that Washington remains focused on the Indo-Pacific in spite of the war in Ukraine. “But this is not just a message. I think the visit will establish in very strong terms that Japan and the United States jointly are ready to play a leadership role in the economic and social development of the broader Indo-Pacific region,” he said.Tomita noted that Biden’s visit would include a summit meeting of the Quad grouping of the United States, Japan, Australia and India, an important vehicle for that purpose.”Also, I’m expecting the visit will also coincide with the formal launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework initiative by the United States. And we are now trying to flesh out the ideas to be contained in this initiative,” he said.Biden is due to host Southeast Asian leaders at a special summit in Washington on Thursday and Friday, but an Asian diplomat said IPEF was not on the formal agenda as most ASEAN economies would not be among the initial signatories.The diplomat said at least six countries were likely to sign up initially with the United States to negotiate agreements on a range of common standards. These were Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and ASEAN members the Philippines and Singapore. Analysts say Washington was particularly keen to get Vietnam and Indonesia aboard too, but they have had issues about agreeing to U.S. standards on cross-border data flows.Tomita said the U.S. withdrawal from what is now known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership was a setback and China was “very aggressively seeking to fill this void.””Whenever you do any form of regional economic forum there is a trade-off between inclusiveness and high standards,” he said, referring to IPEF. “Of course, we need both, but we have to strike the right balance between these two requirements.”The Biden administration has ignored calls for a return to CPTPP because of concerns about the effect this could have on U.S. jobs and has frustrated smaller Asian countries by its unwillingness to offer greater market access they seek via IPEF. The U.S. ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, told the same forum IPEF needed to be inclusive, but also have high enough standards that it would not be “a race to the bottom economically.” More

(Reuters) – Global insurers are expected to receive multiple marine insurance claims from ships damaged or lost as the conflict in Ukraine spills over into sea lanes, insurer Allianz (ETR:ALVG) Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) said in a report on Tuesday.Two seafarers have been killed and six merchant vessels hit by projectiles – sinking two of them – around Ukraine’s coast since the start of Russia’s invasion of its neighbour on Feb. 24.London marine insurers have deemed the Black Sea and Sea of Azov high risk areas, pushing the cost of insuring ships in the region to record levels with an additional premium added to annual war cover for every voyage.In its annual Safety & Shipping Review, Allianz group’s leading subsidiary AGCS said insurers could also face claims arising from vessels and cargo blocked or trapped in Ukrainian ports and coastal waters as Russia’s navy controls access points.”The insurance industry is likely to see a number of claims under specialist war policies from vessels damaged or lost to sea mines, rocket attacks and bombings in conflict zones,” said Justus Heinrich with AGCS. Moscow has called its action in Ukraine a “special operation” and its efforts to create a maritime corridor have been rebuffed with calls for a U.N.-led channel to allow dozens of ships and hundreds of seafarers to leave the area without risk of being hit. In a separate report last month, risk modelling company PCS said industry-wide insured marine losses from the conflict could range from $3-6 billion, with $5 billion a working estimate.An expanded ban on Russian oil under sanctions imposed on Moscow could raise the cost and availability of bunker fuel, AGCS said. “Longer term, we may see a shortage of bunker fuel with more and more vessels having to turn to non-compliant or substandard fuels, which could result in machinery breakdown claims in the future,” AGCS’ Heinrich said. The study, which analysed reported shipping losses and casualties for vessels over 100 gross tons, said 54 ships were lost globally in 2021, compared with 65 a year earlier and represented a 57% decline over the past 10 years.”Such progress reflects the increased focus on safety measures over time through training and safety programs, improved ship design, technology and regulation,” AGCS said. More

Last year, New Zealand became the first country to pass laws requiring banks, insurers and investment managers to report the impacts of climate change on their business.Officials had said that the disclosure requirements will be based on standards from New Zealand’s independent accounting body, the External Reporting Board (XRB), which is responsible for implementing accounting, auditing and climate standards.The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) said on Tuesday it was engaging closely with the XRB on how to implement the laws.”Our goal is to see entities manage their own climate-related risks in a transparent manner that ensures these risks and opportunities are incorporated into business decisions and long-term strategies,” RBNZ assistant governor Simone Robbers said in a statement. More