Uk Economy Entering 2026 Amid Sharp Private Sector Downturn, Says Cbi

The yen languished near a record low to the euro on Monday, after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda stuck to his usual cautious rhetoric following an interest rate hike on Friday.

The Japanese currency traded near an 11-month trough versus the U.S. dollar and just shy of a 17-month low on the Aussie.

A warning of possible currency intervention on Monday had little immediate effect on the market. Japan's top currency diplomat, Atsushi Mimura, said he was "concerned" about "one-sided and sharp" foreign exchange moves, and cautioned that officials "will take appropriate actions against excessive moves."

The BOJ raised the policy rate by a quarter point to a three-decade peak of 0.75% on Friday, in a clearly telegraphed move. The accompanying statement signalled a readiness to continue tightening policy, but Ueda, at his news conference, stressed the timing and pace of further hikes depended on incoming economic data.

The lack of any hawkish hints sent the yen tumbling 1.3% versus the euro, 1.4% against the greenback and 1.5% against the Aussie, even as it triggered a broad selloff in Japanese government bonds that sent the 10-year yield (JP10YTN=JBTC) - which moves inversely to the price - soaring past the symbolic 2% mark to the highest since 1999.

"While the BOJ statement noted that real yields remain 'significantly low' - potentially signalling further tightening ahead - Governor Ueda's press conference offered little new insight, reiterating a data-dependent approach," Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG, wrote in a client note.

"The absence of clearer guidance on the pace of future hikes disappointed markets, triggering yen selling."

A decisive break above 158 yen per U.S. dollar would open the way to the high for the year from January at around 158.87, he said.

The U.S. dollar edged down 0.1% to 157.56 yenon Monday, but remained close to last month's high of 157.90.

The euro eased 0.1% to 184.51 yen, staying within touching distance of Friday's record peak at 184.75. The single currency was flat at $1.1714.

The Aussie weakened slightly to 104.20 yen, but was not far from the 104.39 yen mark reached earlier this month for the first time since July of last year. It rose 0.1% to $0.6616.

The Aussie-yen pair "still has fundamental support from solid risk sentiment and more recently, by wider interest rate differentials between Australian and Japanese ten-year government bond yields," Commonwealth Bank of Australia analysts wrote in a client note, forecasting a rise to 109 yen per Australian dollar by March.

Source: Reuters

South Korea's exports continued to expand in the first weeks of December, supported by strong semiconductor and wireless communication equipment demand, though the overall pace of gains slowed as the country faces higher tariffs from the US.

The value of shipments adjusted for differences in the number of working days increased 3.6% from a year earlier in the first 20 days of December, according to data released Monday by the customs office. That compared with a revised 13% gain reported for the full month of November.

Unadjusted shipments also gained 6.8%, while overall imports added 0.7%, resulting in a trade surplus of $3.8 billion.

Semiconductor exports climbed almost 42%, extending a recovery that's been fueled by artificial intelligence and data center demand. Shipments of wireless communication equipment also increased nearly 18%. Still, auto exports fell 13%, and petrochemicals showed weakness tied to higher input costs and US protectionist measures.

Seoul reached a landmark tariff deal with Washington in late October after three months of negotiations, capping US duties on Korean goods at 15%. Tariffs on Korean autos and auto parts were also retroactively lowered to 15% as of Nov. 1, following the publication of an official notice in the Federal Register earlier this month.

While the deal lowered duties from levels President Donald Trump announced in the spring, rates remain well above the levels the country enjoyed under a previous free trade agreement.

The trade report comes as the Korean won plunged more than 8% against the dollar so far in the second half of 2025, stoking concerns about rising inflation. Both core and headline consumer prices are now above the Bank of Korea's 2% target, and the central bank has warned that prolonged currency weakness could add further pressure on import costs.

By destination, exports to China rose 6.5%, while those to the US slipped 1.7%. Shipments to Taiwan and Vietnam climbed 9.6% and 20.4%, respectively.

Source: Bloomberg Europe

Australia will require natural gas exporters to reserve as much as a quarter of new production for domestic use, as the major supplier seeks to tackle high prices and a forecast shortfall on its more populated east coast.

The policy, which is set to commence in 2027, will affect supply contracts signed from Monday and won't affect any existing agreements, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Monday in Canberra. The final percentage to be reserved will be between 15% and 25% and finalized after a consultation next year, he said.

"From today any new contracts will be covered by the regime," Bowen said. "Gas is important to calibrate and support renewables."

Australia is the world's third-largest shipper of liquefied natural gas, but its 10 export terminals are all located in western or northern areas. Meanwhile, demand for the fossil fuel on the more populated east coast is expected to exceed supply from 2028, the Australian Energy Market Operator forecasts.

Western Australia, which has some of the biggest LNG plants but no pipeline links to the rest of the country, already requires producers to reserve as much as 15% of output for local use.

Source: Bloomberg Europe

India's Adani Group will be "aggressive" in building out artificial intelligence data centers as well as the energy infrastructure that will run them, potentially setting up nuclear power plants, the youngest son of Asia's second-richest man said.

"Data centers is very, very big. What we had assumed we would do in 2030, we have already crossed, and the amount of demand that's coming in keeps rising," Jeet Adani told Nikkei Asia, adding that a mix of low costs and shifts in energy regulations gave India a "natural advantage" when it comes to building out AI data centers.

The group, which is building such infrastructure in India for tech giants such as Google, sees itself as "one of the biggest investors" in the Indian nuclear energy space, said Adani, who oversees the digital and airports divisions. A law opening up the closely controlled sector to private companies was passed by the country's parliament last week.

Adani is among the four family members -- brother Karan and cousins Pranav and Sagar -- who are expected to take over the sprawling media-to-ports conglomerate when his 63-year-old father Gautam retires.

Adani was speaking ahead of the start of operations at Mumbai's newly constructed airport. He said the group is looking to invest about 1 trillion rupees ($11 billion) over the next five years into the unit to support a series of new airports and upgrades to existing facilities.

The group's wider infrastructure gambit includes an investment of up to $5 billion into building out Google's AI data center projects in India. In October, Google said it was going to invest $15 billion to build such facilities in India over the next five years.

The Adani Group is looking to eventually build AI data centers larger than 1 gigawatt in capacity across the country, including in cities like Vizag, Navi Mumbai, Noida and Hyderabad, Adani said.

The company will only focus on providing the infrastructure and other facilities for the data centers.

"We're not in the neo-cloud business," Adani said. "Let's say Google is getting in their TPUs (tensor processing units) in Vizag. We won't invest in the said TPUs."

On the energy side, Adani said the group is ready to use its vast renewables capacity to support the power-hungry data centers. Subsidiary Adani Green Energy is already the country's largest renewable energy company, with expansive solar and wind power generation capabilities.

"We have the ability to give as much renewable electricity as any of the hyperscalers would want," Adani said. "We have the ability to develop [infrastructure] fast, and develop [them] modularly."

However, Adani said a foray into nuclear energy would be closely tied to the demand for power from the data centers.

"Nuclear [energy] is something that we have been very, very actively looking at," Adani said. "I think it was tabooed for too long."

The company will look to build and own the power plants, but would outsource the reactors, he added.

India's parliament passed the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) bill on Friday, which will replace current laws on atomic power and increase privatization of the sector by allowing Indian companies to build, own or operate nuclear plants and reactors, among other things.

The new law is aimed at helping expand India's nuclear power generation from the current 8 GW to 100 GW by 2047. Currently, only 3% of India's electricity comes from nuclear power.

The Adani Group's data center moves parallel investments by India's biggest conglomerates including Reliance Industries and the Tata Group, which are also set to build out AI data centers in collaboration with the likes of Canada's Brookfield and U.S.-based TPG.

India has 1.4 GW of data center capacity under construction and another 5 GW in the planning stage, with current operational capacity at 1.4 GW, according to a report from Macquarie Research.

"If India plays its cards right, it can easily convince the hyperscalers to build 10 GW of data center capacity in the next five years," Adani said. "I see [demand for] 50 GW of renewable electricity coming just from the data centers."

Source: Asia_Nikkei

Signage is pictured in the main lobby of GSK offices in London, Britain, February 20, 2025. REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe/File Photo

South Korea's Samsung Biologics (207940.KS), said on Monday it is acquiring its first U.S. drug production facility from GSK (GSK.L),for $280 million to respond to long-term U.S. market demand.

The company's U.S. unit, Samsung Biologics America, is acquiring a 100% stake in Human Genome Sciences Inc of Rockville, Maryland, the South Korean contract drug manufacturer said in a statement.

Samsung Biologics plans additional investments to expand the site's capacity, currently a combined 60,000 liters of drug substance capacity, and to upgrade technology, it said.

It added that the acquisition value may change when the deal closes, likely around the end of the first quarter of 2026.

South Korea's Celltrion (068270.KS), opens new tab is also planning to produce drugs in the United States, where the Trump administration has threatened to levy tariffs on pharmaceuticals.

Under a deal with the United States, tariffs on U.S. imports of South Korean pharmaceuticals will be no greater than 15%, while generic drugs will be tariff-free.

Samsung Biologics shares were down 0.4% on Monday, lagging the wider market's (.KS11), opens new tab 2% gain.

Source: Reuters

BEIJING, CHINA - NOVEMBER 11: The national flag of China flies in front of the headquarters of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) on November 11, 2025, in Beijing, China. The PBOC serves as the country's central bank, overseeing monetary policy, financial regulation, and currency issuance. (Photo by Cheng Xin/Getty Images)

China's central bank kept its loan prime rates steady on Monday, even as the world's second largest economy has seen weak economic data and an extended slump in its property sector.

The People's Bank of China kept its 1-year and 5-year loan prime rates unchanged at 3% and 3.5% respectively, holding them for a seventh straight meeting, in line with a Reuters survey.

The 1-year rate acts as a benchmark for new loans, while the 5-year helps peg mortgage rates.

The PBOC's decision comes amid downbeat economic data from China in November, including lower-than-expected retail sales and industrial output.

Retail sales rose 1.3% last month from a year earlier, sharply missing Reuters' median forecast for a 2.8% growth, and slowing from 2.9% rise in the prior month.

Industrial production also missed expectations, climbing 4.8% in November from a year earlier compared with estimates for a 5% jump, and marking its weakest growth since August 2024.

China continues to reel from a protracted slump in its real estate sector. Investment in fixed assets, which includes property, contracted 2.6% over the January through November period compared with a year earlier, sharper than the 2.3% drop estimated by economists.

Prices of new homes also also continued to decline in November, showing persistent weakness in China's property sector.

New home prices fell 1.2% in tier-1 cities including Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen while resale home prices dropped 5.8% from a year earlier.

Earlier this month, China's finance ministry said it planned to issue ultra-long-term special government bonds next year to fund construction of key projects and new infrastructure projects.

The country has been contending with deflationary pressures, and policymakers have vowed to "vigorously support the implementation of special actions to boost consumption."

An interim trade deal with the Washington that saw a suspension of prohibitive levels of tariffs on Chinese exports, however, could boost shipments to the U.S. and help the country realize its "around 5%" economic growth target for 2025.

Source: CNBC