Silver Prices Hit Record High Above $60/oz On Rate Cut Bets

Chinese consumer inflation picked up slightly in November but still remained weak amid little economic relief, while pressure on the industrial sector saw producer inflation fall for a 38th consecutive month.

Consumer price index inflation rose 0.7% year-on-year in November, government data showed on Wednesday. The print was in line with expectations and accelerated from a 0.2% rise seen in the past month.

CPI inflation, however, still shrank 0.1% month-on-month, missing expectations for a 0.3% increase.

The mildly higher annual reading was driven by some holiday and shopping event-linked spending through November, with the "Singles day" event having taken place in the first two weeks of the month. A lower basis for comparison from last year also boosted November's reading.

Consumer sentiment took some support from Beijing's pledges to dole out more fiscal stimulus, with the recent Politburo meeting of the Communist Party reiterating this message.

But Chinese consumers still remained largely on edge over a cooling economy, especially as fears of a real estate crisis reemerged during November.

Chinese factory gate inflation continued to weaken, signaling little relief for local manufacturers. Producer price index inflation shrank 2.2% in November, more than expectations for a 2.0% drop. The print also marked a 38th consecutive month on contraction for PPI inflation.

Chinese factories were battered by weak local demand, high production levels in recent years, while trade tariff-related headwinds eroded export demand in 2025.

Source: Investing

Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said on Tuesday that he is seeing "strong enough momentum" in the country's price-wage trends, which will help weather shocks to inflation.

He made the comments during "The Global Boardroom," an annual event hosted by the Financial Times. Ueda was speaking in a recorded keynote interview with the FT's chief economics commentator, Martin Wolf, during which they discussed inflation, interest rates and artificial intelligence.

When asked if Japan could sink into a deflationary environment again, Ueda said higher wages as a result of a tight labor market would support prices.

He said that while a potential slowdown in AI spending globally could be bad news for economies, "we think there's strong enough momentum in domestic price-wage dynamics" to prevent "such a negative shock from creating a large fall in the rate of inflation."

He added: "There's this significantly tight labor market domestically, which will continue to put upward pressure on wages."

Wage momentum is a key indicator Ueda has been watching this year. The governor has repeatedly said he would consider wage-hike momentum in the coming year before adjusting monetary policy.

The BOJ is gearing up to hold its last monetary policy meeting of the year, scheduled for Dec. 18 and 19.

The bond markets have increasingly priced in a December interest rate rise after Ueda cited the wage-price trend earlier this month for any decision on interest rates. Investors have pushed up long-term Japanese government bond yields. Yet, despite such speculation, the yen has remained weak against the U.S. dollar.

While Ueda refrained from talking about the yen and Japan's fiscal policy, he said that underlying inflation -- which is just below the BOJ's 2% target -- will continue to rise.

"We have been keeping policy easy," he said, adding that "because we are foreseeing a convergence to 2% of this underlying component, we've been adjusting the degree of easing slowly."

Japanese households are struggling with rising prices, especially for food. Headline inflation has exceeded the BOJ's 2% target for 43 straight months but the bank considers the rise to be led by extraordinary and volatile factors.

"We think this food price inflation is temporary, so it's going to come down fairly significantly in terms of the rate of change in prices in the first half of next year," Ueda said.

He also does not see overall inflation accelerating, even taking into account upcoming fiscal stimuli that the government is expected to implement. "At the moment, we are not seeing a tendency for aggregate demand or underlying inflation to accelerate," he said.

There is a caveat, though. "This may change if, for example, food price inflation or exchange rate weakness lasts longer than we are thinking," he added.

The BOJ chief also spoke about the U.S. and Japan weathering the impacts of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, saying that American companies and Japanese automakers "swallowed the burden" without passing on the higher costs of doing business to consumers.

On the question of Japan's economic growth potential, Ueda touched on the country's declining population and said that government policies on foreign labor will have an impact.

"Apart from this, much will depend on what we will be able to do with regard to things like AI adoption and ensuring whether or not we will be able to raise productivity" to offset the labor shortage, he said.

Source: Asia_Nikkei

President Donald Trump said people were "starting to learn" the benefits of his tariff regime as he sought to convince voters his administration was moving to address affordability concerns, taking to the road in hopes of countering a mounting political vulnerability.

Trump, who is resuming domestic political travel after months without holding a rally, allowed that he "got a lot of heat" over his sweeping levies on foreign imports, with political opponents seizing on the program to argue tariffs have increased consumer prices and inflation.

But on Tuesday evening, he argued that the tariffs had enabled him to provide aid to farmers and forced manufacturers to build plants and data centers in the US.

"It's amazing," Trump said of tariffs at a campaign-style rally in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania. "It's the smart people understand it. Other people are starting to learn, but the smart people really understand it."

The president and his aides have acknowledged the need to sharpen their economic messaging, a tacit acknowledgment of how voter sentiment on the economy has become a challenge for the president. He told supporters that his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, had told him in recent days he needed to "start campaigning" again in order to prevail in the midterms.

Those new pressures were highlighted in elections last month in which Republicans suffered a number of high-profile defeats and cost of living issues figured prominently. Trump returned to power by seizing on public discontent over high prices and lack of job growth but now risks running into the same economic headwinds that vexed his predecessor, Joe Biden.

Consumer sentiment, while somewhat improved, remains near the lowest on record, data from the University of Michigan show, and people's views of their personal finances are the dimmest since 2009. Unemployment has ticked higher, and US companies shed payrolls in November by the most since early 2023, according to data from ADP Research.

Earlier: Trump Resumes Domestic Travel Hoping to Calm Inflation Worry

Trump and allies have moved to assuage those concerns in recent weeks, drafting new agricultural exemptions to his tariff agenda, providing aid for farmers and investigating the meatpacking industry. Trump has also sought to roll back fuel efficiency standards to lower the price of cars and reduce prescription drug costs.

Yet those efforts have failed to break through with voters with the president also juggling other priorities including a sweeping immigration crackdown, a push to bring an end to Russia's war in Ukraine, and pet projects such as building a new White House ballroom.

Trump has expressed anger when asked about affordability issues, accusing Democrats and the media of a "hoax" since inflation grew at a higher rate under Biden.

"That's our message: they gave you high prices, they give you the highest inflation in history, and we're bringing those prices down rapidly," Trump said in Mount Pocono.

Aides insist Trump's economic agenda has helped blunt the effects of high prices of everyday essentials, and his advisers have publicly pleaded with voters to be more patient, maintaining that their policies are working. US job openings picked up in October to the highest level in five months.

Still, Republicans face questions about rising health care costs for millions of Americans who receive subsidies under the Affordable Care Act that are set to expire at year's end. Trump has also continued to threaten new tariffs that risk exacerbating price growth.

It's also unclear if Trump's attacks on Democratic lawmakers will resonate in the same way now that his party controls the government. The president nevertheless rehashed familiar attacks against Biden over his age, while slamming Minnesota Democrats over a burgeoning fraud scandal.

Source: Bloomberg Europe

The independence of central banks is essential for monetary stability, Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta said on Tuesday, amid a spat between the Italian government and the European Central Bank over the country's gold reserves.

The ECB urged Rome on Monday to reconsider a proposed amendment to its 2026 budget law that would state that the Bank of Italy's gold reserves belong to "the Italian people," warning the move could jeopardise the central bank's independence.

Without mentioning specifically the issue of the gold reserves, Panetta said in a speech that monetary stability rests on "the authority of the State and the credibility of an independent central bank."

Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti intends to send a letter to ECB head Christine Lagarde to clarify that Rome has no plans to undermine the independence of the Bank of Italy, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

RISKS AHEAD

In his speech in Dublin at an event organised by Ireland's central bank, Panetta said the transformation of the international monetary system, with accelerating digitalisation and growing multipolarity, carried a number of risks.

"When structural forces move inch by inch, while technology advances in leaps and bounds, the outcome is not just linear change or fresh opportunities; it may also turn turbulent," he said.

Panetta expressed concern about the increasing use of stablecoins in cross-border payments, saying their circulation was opaque and they suffered from operational vulnerabilities.

"During the transition to a digital monetary order, their growing use could add a layer of volatility – or even instability – to an already uncertain international environment," he said.

Managing these risks will require clear rules, credible public anchors and sustained international cooperation, Panetta added.

The Bank of Italy chief also noted "the weakening of some of the dollar's traditional pillars," while China's yuan and the euro both have the potential to become more global currencies but are not currently in a position to match the greenback.

"Multipolarity could increase diversification, spreading the burden of global liquidity provision and reducing global dependence on the US policy cycle. But it could also amplify volatility and contagion risks," he warned.

Source: Reuters

Canadian travel provider Transat AT Inc. reached a tentative agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association, preventing a disruptive strike one day before it could have started.

The Montreal-based company, which operates the airline Air Transat, said in a statement Tuesday on its website that operations would return to normal. The labor deal will be submitted to more than 750 pilots for a ratification vote in the coming days, after "more than 11 months of intensive negotiations," according to ALPA.

"Our pilots have been frustrated flying under a decade-old, outdated collective agreement," Bradley Small, chair of Air Transat's ALPA master executive council, said in a statement. "We believe this new agreement meets the needs of today's profession, consistent with collective agreements other ALPA-represented pilot groups are signing with their employers."

The parties did not share details of the arrangement. Air Transat had canceled some flights to wind down operations before the possible walkout. Canceled flights will not be reinstated, according to the airline's frequently asked questions page.

Source: Bloomberg Europe

EVERY December, Malaysia's university convocation halls are filled with celebration. Parents weep with pride as their children cross the stage, certificates in hand, proof of years of sacrifice and hope. Yet once the photographs are taken and the robes returned, a quieter anxiety sets in. For a growing number of graduates, the question is no longer simply where to work, but whether the economy they are entering can still deliver meaningful upward mobility.

To understand Malaysia's predicament, one must look beyond national borders. Malaysia does not compete in isolation. It is positioned in a demanding regional triangle defined by Singapore, Vietnam and South Korea—three economies with sharply different labour-market models. Together, they illuminate the uncomfortable middle ground that Malaysia now occupies.

Wages offer the first stark comparison. Malaysia's median monthly wage in the formal sector is around RM3,000. Nearly half of formal workers earn below this level, with the largest concentration clustered between RM1,500 and RM1,999. It is an income structure that sits uneasily with the rising cost of living in urban Malaysia and offers limited room for wealth accumulation among young professionals. Across the Causeway, Singapore's median monthly income exceeds S$5,700—several times Malaysia's level. In Korea, the median monthly wage approaches RM10,000. Vietnam, by contrast, remains far cheaper, with average earnings at roughly one-tenth of Singapore's level.

On wages alone, Malaysia is caught in the middle: no longer cheap enough to compete purely on labour cost, yet nowhere near wealthy enough to command the premium of a high-skill economy. But the more consequential story lies beneath the surface — in the type of jobs each economy is creating.

Singapore has spent two decades engineering a deliberate upward shift in job structure. Today, nearly two-thirds of employed residents are professionals, managers, executives and technicians. These high-skill jobs anchor the city-state's wage structure, support strong household incomes, and feed continuous reinvestment into innovation, finance, technology and advanced services. Even Singapore's challenges — inequality, work pressure, reliance on foreign talent — stem from the intensity of its high-productivity growth model, not from a failure to create skilled employment.

Vietnam offers the opposite contrast. Only a minority of its workforce has tertiary or formal vocational training, yet this very structure underpins its appeal as one of Asia's most competitive manufacturing hubs. Factory wages remain low but are rising steadily. Multinational firms relocate assembly lines, packaging operations and light manufacturing to Vietnam not because it is sophisticated, but because it is scalable, disciplined and cost-efficient. Vietnam is still playing the classic industrialising latecomer strategy — pulling millions into formal employment through labour-intensive manufacturing while slowly upgrading its skills base.

Korea represents a third model: already a high-income, technology-driven economy with world-class electronics, automotive and digital industries. Its labour market, however, is deeply dualistic. Permanent workers in large firms are well paid and highly protected; younger and irregular workers face insecurity and weaker wage progression. Youth unemployment remains persistently elevated, and elderly poverty is among the highest in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). Korea shows both the rewards and frictions of a fully industrialised, innovation-dependent economy.

Malaysia, uncomfortably, resembles none of these models fully.

More than half of Malaysia's workforce is concentrated in semi-skilled occupations. When new jobs are created, the pattern reinforces itself: roughly two-thirds of recent job creation has been semi-skilled, while the share of skilled jobs has fallen sharply — from about 45% in 2018 to just 27% in 2024. This is not the structure of a high-income labour market. At the same time, Malaysia produces graduates at near-advanced-economy scale — about 300,000 annually.

The result is structural graduate underemployment. An estimated two million Malaysians with tertiary qualifications are now working in jobs that do not match their education level. Official unemployment remains low, hovering around 3%, but this headline figure masks a deeper fragility. The real issue is no longer joblessness; it is the erosion of job quality and the weakening of education as a reliable pathway to income progression.

This structural imbalance explains Malaysia's wage stagnation. As graduates are absorbed into semi-skilled roles, downward wage competition intensifies in the middle of the labour market. Median wages become trapped near the RM3,000 mark even as GDP (gross domestic product) grows. Meanwhile, the upper tier of high-income professional jobs remains too thin to pull the overall wage structure upward. It is a labour market generating quantity without quality.

In regional terms, this leaves Malaysia squeezed from both sides. Vietnam is rapidly improving its industrial depth while retaining a decisive cost advantage. Singapore and Korea dominate at the high end of skills, technology, finance and innovation. Malaysia, by contrast, is drifting in the "missing middle" — too expensive to beat Vietnam on cost, yet insufficiently specialised to rival Singapore or Korea on skill.

The strategic risk is clear. Multinational firms seeking large-scale, cost-efficient production will favour Vietnam. Firms requiring frontier technology, deep research ecosystems and advanced services will gravitate towards Singapore and Korea. Malaysia is increasingly left with semi-skilled, mid-value activities that face both price pressure from below and technological pressure from above.

This is not a story of national failure. Each of these countries carries its own vulnerabilities. Singapore struggles with inequality and foreign-labour dependence. Vietnam must grapple with informality, weak social protection and limited high-skill capacity. Korea faces demographic decline, labour dualism and youth disillusionment. Yet all three have something Malaysia increasingly lacks: a coherent labour-market development thesis. Their outcomes, for better or worse, reflect deliberate strategic choices.

Malaysia's labour market, by contrast, reflects hesitation.

The nation has not fully committed to being a high-skill innovation hub, yet it has also moved decisively beyond being a low-cost manufacturing base. That hesitation is now visible in wages that no longer rise in line with productivity aspirations, in graduates struggling to find appropriate work, and in a middle class whose purchasing power grows ever more fragile.

This drift carries broader economic consequences. An economy dominated by semi-skilled jobs cannot sustain strong productivity growth. Domestic consumption remains constrained, fiscal capacity weakens, and the social contract between education and opportunity begins to fray. For young Malaysians burdened with education loans and urban living costs, delayed career progression translates into delayed marriage, delayed home ownership and intensified interest in migration.

Malaysia deserves credit for its achievements. Extreme poverty has been pushed close to zero. Unemployment remains low. Infrastructure is extensive, and the economy remains diversified. But the development challenge has evolved. The central question now is no longer survival, but direction. It is not whether Malaysia can create jobs, but whether it can create enough high-quality jobs to sustain a confident middle-income society.

The answer lies in a decisive recalibration of growth strategy. Malaysia must pivot from labour absorption to skill deepening, from volume-driven employment to productivity-led job creation. This requires far tighter alignment between university curricula, industrial policy, technology investment and private-sector hiring practices. It also requires confronting uncomfortable trade-offs: moving away from certain low-value labour-intensive activities even if they create short-term employment, in order to unlock higher-wage trajectories over time.

The regional context leaves little room for ambiguity. In a world of supply-chain fragmentation, friend-shoring and technological rivalry, countries are being sorted by what they can do best. Vietnam is becoming indispensable to cost-efficient manufacturing. Singapore and Korea are indispensable to high-skill innovation systems. Malaysia must now define its own indispensable role — or risk being permanently compressed between the two.

As Noor Azlan Ghazali, who heads the Malaysian Inclusive Development and Advancement Institute (Minda-UKM), has observed, the convocation photographs taken today will sit on family walls for decades. Whether they mark the beginning of true upward mobility or the start of quiet disappointment will depend on how Malaysia responds to this regional reality. In a neighbourhood shaped by Singapore, Vietnam and Korea, muddling through the middle is no longer a viable strategy.

Samirul Ariff Othman is an analyst of global politics, business and economics. He is an adjunct lecturer at Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) and a senior consultant with Global Asia Consulting.

Source: Theedgemarkets