It is almost pointless looking at economic numbers at the moment as the number of people infected with the Covid-19 around the world head breached 1.6 million.
Almost anything that happened before the pandemic took hold is virtually meaningless now. And anything that happened after is bound to be dire, if not all over the shop.
What seems to matter now is how much money economies around the world are prepared to throw at COVID-19 to form a bridge between where we are now and where we could be when life can return to some form of normalcy.
In terms of the dire economic numbers, the US is expected to say that retail sales fell around 2% year on year in March. Meanwhile, China could say that its economy shrank around 6% in the first quarter. Elsewhere, retail sales in the world’s second largest economy could have dropped by as much as 12%, as shops closed for business.
Japan should be able to register a positive trade balance for March. But India is expected to report another trade deficit.
Indonesia’s trade balance is expected to in balance. But more importantly, the country’s central bank will announce its latest interest-rate decision. It could keep the reverse repo rate unchanged this time having already cut it for two straight months.
Malaysia will report industrial production and unemployment numbers. Both figures are for February which are almost irrelevant, as they relate to the period before the country announced a movement control order that will now be extended until 28 April.
And finally, Singapore could report a balance of trade of S$1.8 billion for March. It would be an improvement on the S$1.08 billion that it reported for February.
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Disclosure: David Kuo does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.
