Malaysia: International Reserves of BNM as at 30 April 2008

The international reserves of Bank Negara Malaysia amounted to RM396.7bn (equivalent to US$124.1bn) as at 30 April 2008. It rose 1.7% compared to the two weeks ago, which amounted to RM390.1bn or US$122bn as at 15 April 2008. The reserves position is sufficient to finance 9.8 months of retained imports and is 7.3 times the short-term external debt. (BNM)

Euro: Retail Sales Drop by Record on Rising Costs

European retail sales declined 1.6% in March, the most since at least 1995 and twice as much as economists forecast, as soaring fuel and food costs sapped consumer spending. The drop in euro-area retail sales from a year earlier is the largest since the data series began more than a decade ago, the European Union’s statistics office said. From February, sales declined 0.4%. Economists had forecast a 0.7% annual decline and a gain of 0.2% on the month, according to Bloomberg News surveys. A doubling of crude-oil prices in the past 12 months and soaring prices for food such as wheat and rice have undermined consumer sentiment across the 15 nations that use the euro. The European Central Bank, which meets tomorrow to decide on interest rates, has refused to follow its counterparts in the U.S. and the U.K. in lowering borrowing costs after a surge in inflation that reached a 16-year high of 3.6% in March. (Bloomberg)

US: Consumer Debt Rises More Than Forecast in March

U.S. consumer borrowing jumped more than double the amount economists forecast in March, indicating a slowing economy is forcing Americans to accumulate credit-card and other forms of debt. Consumer credit increased by US$15.3bn for the month to US$2.56trn, the biggest monthly rise since November, the Federal

Reserve said. In February, credit rose by US$6.5bn, previously reported as an increase of US$5.2bn. The Fed’s report doesn’t cover borrowing secured by real estate, such as home-equity loans. Consumers are turning to credit cards after banks tightened standards for home-equity loans and other borrowing. The March figures brought U.S. consumer borrowing in the first quarter to US$34bn, the most since the first three months of 2001, when the economy entered its last official recession. (Bloomberg)

US: Productivity Rises More Than Forecast

U.S. worker productivity unexpectedly accelerated in the first quarter and helped curb inflation as companies showed no loss of output with fewer employees. Productivity, a measure of worker efficiency, rose at a 2.2% annual rate after a 1.8% gain the prior quarter, the Labor Department said. Federal Reserve policy makers anticipate that the economic slowdown and weakening job market will contain consumer prices, and today’s figures may bolster their case. Companies trimmed staff hours by the most in five years last quarter as they tried to cope with the housing-led economic downturn, the data showed. (Bloomberg)