We need to find a fairer way of providing Goods and Services to the rest of the people on Earth.Cryptocurrencies and/or Gold Standard of money....maybe the answer to fight hyperinflation caused by too much printing of paper/fiat currencies by Governments and Central Banks all over the World. (https://nomorefiatmoneyplease.blogspot.com)
The respective spokeswomen of OCBC and UOB told The Business Times their banks face no ban on trading forex in China.
PHOTO: REUTERS
OCBC Bank and United Overseas Bank (UOB) both confirmed on Thursday that they continue to trade foreign exchange in China, unlike several banks including DBS Bank that are said to have been banned from doing so.
The respective spokeswomen of OCBC and UOB told The Business Times their banks face no ban on trading forex in China.
DBS spokeswoman Edna Koh declined to comment on reports that the bank is among others suspended from some forex business in China.
"We heard that DBS had been banned since December," a source told BT.
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DBS Group Holdings and Standard Chartered are among banks suspended from some forex business in China, reported Bloomberg citing sources.
StanChart has appealed to China's central bank to shorten a ban running through March, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorised to speak publicly, reported Bloomberg. DBS's ban is shorter than three months, it said.
The clampdown came as the growing offshore-onshore spread made it profitable to buy the currency in Hong Kong and sell it in Shanghai, said Bloomberg.
China's decision to suspend StanChart was reported earlier by Reuters, which also cited Deutsche Bank among lenders banned.
DBS, Standard Chartered said to face China currency suspensions
DBS Group Holdings and Standard Chartered are among banks suspended from some foreign- exchange business in China, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
[SINGAPORE] DBS Group Holdings and Standard Chartered are among banks suspended from some foreign- exchange business in China, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Standard Chartered has appealed to China's central bank to shorten a ban running through March, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because they're not authorized to speak publicly. DBS's ban is shorter than three months, another person said.
China's decision to suspend Standard Chartered was reported earlier by Reuters, which also cited Deutsche Bank AG among lenders banned. All three banks declined to comment.
The suspensions coincide with turmoil in Chinese markets. The CSI 300 Index plunged 7.2 per cent before trading was halted by automatic circuit breakers on Thursday, while the onshore yuan weakened 0.6 per cent versus the dollar to a five-year low.
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Suspensions on settling offshore clients' yuan transactions in the onshore market were imposed last month by the People's Bank of China, people familiar with the matter have said. The clampdown came as the growing offshore-onshore spread made it profitable to buy the currency in Hong Kong and sell it in Shanghai.
Oil falls to lowest since 2003 as yuan drop shows China turmoil
Oil plunged to a 12-year low in New York on speculation slower economic growth in China will curb fuel demand, worsening a worldwide oversupply.
PHOTO: AFP
[HONG KONG] Oil plunged to a 12-year low in New York on speculation slower economic growth in China will curb fuel demand, worsening a worldwide oversupply.
West Texas Intermediate oil for February delivery fell as much as $1.87, or 5.5 per cent, to $32.10 a barrel, the lowest in intraday trade since December 2003. China's central bank reduced the onshore yuan's fixing to the lowest since March 2011, triggering a selloff that led to the closure of Chinese stock exchanges.
China to remove gold import license for industrial purposes: customs
Gold imported into China for industrial use will not require a central bank permit from the beginning of this year, the General Administration of Customs said on Thursday.
PHOTO: AFP
[SHANGHAI] Gold imported into China for industrial use will not require a central bank permit from the beginning of this year, the General Administration of Customs said on Thursday.
Industrial use includes the processing of gold in making watches and coins, for example, according to the statement.
Turbulence in China punishes oil to copper as gold haven emerges
China's market turmoil is kicking commodities when they're down.
PHOTO: REUTERS
[BEIJING] China's market turmoil is kicking commodities when they're down.
The central bank on Thursday cut the yuan's daily reference rate by the most since August, guiding the currency lower amid tepid growth. While that may help stimulate the flagging export sector, it'll make everything from oil to copper and corn costlier to import into the world's biggest user of energy, metals and grains.
Additionally, more overseas shipments of surplus raw materials such as steel and diesel will add to oversupplied global markets.
Commodities are just coming off their worst annual performance since the 2008 global financial crisis, and the latest move by Chinese authorities heightens concerns that the slowdown in Asia's biggest economy is deeper than anticipated. Weaker demand in the nation dragged returns from raw materials to the lowest since 1999 last year, after a decade of soaring consumption fueled a so-called supercycle and a boom in prices.
"From China's perspective, crude and other commodities will get more expensive when the yuan weakens," Hong Sung Ki, an analyst at Samsung Futures Inc. in Seoul, said by phone. "Being the biggest commodities importer, depreciation of the yuan is a bearish factor in the demand and supply picture as China will cut purchases, which will push down prices."
The Bloomberg Commodity Index dropped 0.5 per cent to 76.2812 by 12:59 pm in Singapore. The measure of returns from 22 raw materials is sliding for a fourth day and is headed for the lowest close since March 1999.
The slump extended to equities, with energy and resources shares tumbling the most on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. China Coal Energy plunged 7.2 per cent in Hong Kong, while Australian explorer Origin Energy and miner South32 slid about 7 per cent in Sydney. BHP Billiton traded 4.5 per cent lower.
China's mainland shares were routed, forcing the world's second-largest stock market to shut early for the second day this week. An unexpected yuan devaluation in August had also roiled global markets on concern the move would fuel a currency war and exacerbate deflationary pressures in the developed world.
West Texas Intermediate oil futures in New York dropped as much as 3.5 per cent to US$32.77 a barrel, extending losses from the lowest close in seven years. Brent crude in London lost 2.5 per cent to US$33.39 a barrel.
Copper on the London Metal Exchange dropped 0.7 per cent to US$4,586 a metric ton, while nickel slumped 1.4 per cent and zinc declined 2 per cent. Corn futures in Chicago slipped 0.4 per cent as wheat and soybeans fell 0.2 per cent.
Investors are being driven "more by emotion and panic" rather than market fundamentals, according to David Mann, the chief economist for Asia at Standard Chartered Plc in Singapore.
"The main conclusion that people are drawing from this depreciation is that they suspect it's a last-ditch attempt to support the economy," Mann said by phone. "That all other options to boost growth are used, and that it must be because things are even worse."
Amid the turmoil, gold's status as a haven drew investors to the metal. Spot bullion climbed 0.5 per cent to US$1,099.23 an ounce, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. It has climbed 3.6 per cent this year in the longest run of daily gains since October.
The rout in equity markets is spilling into commodities, said Dominic Schnider, the head of commodities and Asia-Pacific foreign exchange at UBS Group AG's wealth-management unit in Hong Kong.
Chinese investors have "been living with a strengthening currency for a long, long period of time and now you see weakness and it becomes more clear that the economy will slow, the currency will be weak and a lot of capital likes to leave," he said. "That leaves the currency vulnerable and a lot of asset classes vulnerable."
Flight to safety sends gold to 9-week high as stocks slump
Gold climbed above US$1,100 an ounce for the first time in nine weeks on Thursday as investors channelled money into the safe-haven metal amid a global stock market rout, worries over the Chinese economy and heightened geopolitical tensions.
PHOTO: REUTERS
[SINGAPORE] Gold climbed above US$1,100 an ounce for the first time in nine weeks on Thursday as investors channelled money into the safe-haven metal amid a global stock market rout, worries over the Chinese economy and heightened geopolitical tensions.
China stocks fell 7 per cent on Thursday after less than half an hour of trading, triggering a circuit breaker that will keep Shanghai and Shenzhen markets closed for the rest of the day.
China also guided the yuan sharply lower, deepening concerns about the economy and sending Asian shares to a three-month low.
Spot gold rose to a nine-week high of US$1,102.80 an ounce, before paring some gains to trade up 0.4 per cent at US$1,098.20 by 0258 GMT. US gold futures also jumped for a fourth straight session to a nine-week high of US$1,102.50.
"Gold continued to climb with rising safe-haven demand amid the rebound in market volatility. Rising equities losses and surprising devaluation of the yuan are painting a positive picture for gold," ANZ said.
Gold, often seen as an alternative investment during times of geopolitical and financial uncertainty, benefited from the risk-averse sentiment in the market along with other haven assets such as the Japanese yen and US Treasuries.
"Gold is clearly re-establishing its role as a safe-haven. For as long as global stock markets - in particular China's - appear wobbly, gold is likely to attract a good bid," HSBC analyst James Steel said.
A raft of data releases from China in coming weeks is likely to show activity continuing to slow, adding to global concerns about the country's economic outlook for 2016.
The World Bank on Wednesday cut its global economic growth forecast for 2016, citing the weak performance of major emerging market economies.
Adding to market fears was North Korea's announcement it had successfully tested a powerful nuclear bomb on Wednesday, a move that escalated tensions in the Korean peninsula.
The news came just days after tensions flared in the Middle East between Saudi Arabia and Iran after Riyadh executed a Shi'ite cleric critical of Saudi policy.
Bullion was also supported by a softer dollar and the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meet. The minutes assured markets that the Fed would hike rates gradually this year.
Among other precious metals, silver and platinum rose about 0.6 per cent each.
Palladium, which as an autocatalyst metal is more exposed to economic weakness, slid to a 5-year low of US$501 an ounce before paring the losses to trade flat.
