Japan’s industrial output shrank at its fastest pace in eight months in January due to declining external demand that affected key industries, according to the Japanese government on Monday. Meanwhile, the White House has given government agencies 30 days to guarantee the removal of the Chinese app TikTok from all US federal agencies’ phones and systems, as well as ban all data transmissions between government agencies and TikTok.
In other news, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reached a deal with the European Union on post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, which is expected to pave the way for a new chapter in UK relations with the EU. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has released its latest GDPNow forecast model, showing that the US economy grew 2.8% in the first quarter of 2023.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the XBB.1.5 strain accounts for 85% of the total spread of COVID-19 detected from patients in the United States. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor-elect Kazuo Ueda reiterated his commitment to ultra-accommodating monetary policy and stabilizing prices within five years of his tenure.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia welcomes China’s offer to end the conflict in Ukraine, while Turkey experienced a new aftershock yesterday resulting in one death and 69 injuries, and 29 buildings collapsed.
In addition, today will see the release of significant economic indicators. These include January retail sales and industrial production for Japan, January retail sales for Australia, February inflation and Q4/2022 gross domestic product for France, Q4/2022 gross domestic product for India, as well as US wholesale inventory for January, S&P/Case-Shiller’s house price index for December, and the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for February.