China's new home prices fall 0.3% in July
The month-on-month figure, calculated by Reuters based on data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, extended a weak trend that has persisted since May 2023. Prices fell 0.3% on month in June.
On an annual basis, new home prices fell 2.8% in July, versus a 3.2% drop in June.
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Reuters
17 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump says no imminent plans to penalize China for buying Russian oil
WASHINGTON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he did not immediately need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil but might have to "in two or three weeks." Trump has threatened sanctions on Moscow and secondary sanctions on countries that buy its oil if no moves are made to end the war in Ukraine. China and India are the top two buyers of Russian oil. The president last week imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing its continued imports of Russian oil. However, Trump has not taken similar action against China. He was asked by Fox News' Sean Hannity if he was now considering such action against Beijing after he and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to produce an agreement to resolve or pause Moscow's war in Ukraine. "Well, because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that," Trump said after his summit with Putin in Alaska. "Now, I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now. I think, you know, the meeting went very well." Chinese President Xi Jinping's slowing economy will suffer if Trump follows through on a promise to ramp up Russia-related sanctions and tariffs. Xi and Trump are working on a trade deal that could lower tensions - and import taxes - between the world's two biggest economies. But China could be the biggest remaining target, outside of Russia, if Trump ramps up punitive measures.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Investors react to US-Russia summit reaching no agreement
NEW YORK, Aug 15 (Reuters) - A highly anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday yielded no agreement to resolve or pause Moscow's war in Ukraine, despite both leaders describing the talks in Alaska as productive. During a brief appearance before the media following the nearly three-hour talks, the two leaders said they had made progress on unspecified issues. But they offered no details and took no questions, with the normally loquacious Trump ignoring shouted questions from reporters. "There were many, many points that we agreed on. I would say a couple of big ones that we haven't quite got there, but we've made some headway," Trump said, standing in front of a backdrop that read, "Pursuing Peace." COMMENTS: HELIMA CROFT, GLOBAL HEAD OF COMMODITY STRATEGY AT RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, NEW YORK: "It seems to be the scenario that we anticipated in our note. Soundbites signaling diplomatic progress but few concrete deal specifics. We will watching to see whether the 'too be continued' outcome is enough to table the secondary sanctions on India for continuing to import Russian oil. Certainly will fall short of anything that will convince the Europeans to consider vacating their Russian energy sanctions." CAROL SCHLEIF, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, BMO PRIVATE WEALTH, MINNEAPOLIS: "The only news was absolutely no news out of it. Not sure there will be any market impactful portions - geopolitical issues in general do not tend to preoccupy market attention for very long if at all." "Markets are at new highs despite this conflict going on for three years. Markets care more about consumers, inflation and commentary from Wyoming next week." ERIC TEAL, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, COMERICA, CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: "The fact that there were no economic sanctions is a positive and markets should breathe a sigh of relief, but it doesn't appear as though a deal is in hand." "If anything, we see opportunity in the energy sector, as oil prices are at pretty low levels here and the prospect of sanctions on oil did not bear out. There could be a relief rally and that would be an opportunity to invest in energy as we head into higher seasonal demands and economic growth beginning to re-accelerate." "Gold and precious metals are likely to sell off because of being an asset class good for safety. Given concerns about inflation, they are a good buying point as well if any weakness." EUGENE EPSTEIN, HEAD OF TRADING AND STRUCTURED PRODUCTS, NORTH AMERICA, MONEYCORP, NEW JERSEY: "I don't think anybody expected it to be particularly specific or substantive. It's essentially a first step towards potentially something more. They both kind of said everything diplomatically. But it's more about the significance of the meeting as a whole, as opposed to the content of what they're saying." "Again, I don't think anybody really expected them to suddenly within a couple of hours come up with a very specific set of plans or any kind of blueprint to something. It basically was just showing their willingness to have continued talks to arrive at a conclusion that is beneficial for all parties. And I think this is just the first steps, and many more to come." "Basically, President Trump needs to go back to the European Union and relay what Putin has said. And then he's got to negotiate with Zelenskiy. For the most part, I think they've laid the groundwork for a deal. And my feeling is that it will probably get done, but there's probably a couple more steps. I'm thinking one of those steps will be Trump, Putin and Zelinski all meeting in the next month." "They will probably reach a deal in 30 days. I was kind of surprised that they didn't take any questions. So there's a little bit of disappointment in that, but until a deal is done, you can't really take any questions." "Overall, the markets will like it marginally because I think they've made some progress. But I don't think we will be up 400 points in Dow futures on Sunday night." MICHAEL ASHLEY SCHULMAN, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, RUNNING POINT, EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA: "At this point, it has been three years into the war, so it really shouldn't have much effect. I think markets will take it as status quo, but I think there's only upside from here." JAMIE COX, MANAGING PARTNER, HARRIS FINANCIAL GROUP, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA: "Without Ukraine at the table, there was little chance for a peace accord. That Putin attended at all was significant, but he can't be seen ending the conflict while on American soil meeting with Trump."
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
Foreign holdings of US Treasuries climb to record $9.13 trillion in June
NEW YORK, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries rose to record levels in June, topping $9 trillion for a fourth straight month, data from the Treasury Department showed on Friday. Holdings of U.S. Treasuries climbed to $9.13 trillion in June, up from $9.05 trillion in May. Compared with a year earlier, Treasuries owned by foreigners were up nearly $1 trillion, or 10% higher. However, on a transaction basis, the U.S. experienced outflows of $5 billion after buying roughly $147 billion in Treasuries in May, the largest since August 2022. In April, there was an outflow of $40.8 billion as President Donald Trump's back-and-forth tariff policies roiled markets. Japan remained the largest non-U.S. holder of Treasuries, with a record $1.147 trillion in June, up $12.6 billion from the previous month's $1.134 trillion. UK investors, the second-largest owner of U.S. government debt, raised their pool of Treasuries to another record of$858.1 billion, up 0.6% from $809.4 billion in May. The UK overtook China as the second-largest non-U.S. holder of Treasuries in March. The UK is widely viewed as a custody country, generally a proxy for hedge fund investments. Other countries used by hedge funds for custody services include the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas. Treasury holdings of China, the third-largest owner of U.S. government debt, were little changed at$756.4 billion, compared with $756.3 billion in May, which was the lowest since February 2009 when the country's stock of Treasuries dropped to$744.2 billion. China's holdings were way below their largest level of more than $1.3 trillion held between 2012 and 2016. China, the world's second-largest economy, has been gradually dumping Treasuries to bolster its currency, the yuan. Analysts said a slowing Chinese economy, post-COVID challenges, and trade barriers have diminished China's inflows from exports. Data also showed that other foreign investors in Asia like Hong Kong and India reduced their cache of Treasuries to $242.6 billion and $227.4 billion, respectively. Foreign investors, meanwhile, also poured back into U.S. equities, injecting inflows of $163.1 billion in June that followed $115.8 billion in purchases in May. Data also showed that the net capital inflow into the United States totaled just $77.8 billion, down 75% from the revised$318.1 billion in May, which was the largest since September 2024.
