Asian Markets Slip as AI Spending Fears Shake Tech, Wall Street Futures Rebound 
FxWirePro: Daily Commodity Tracker - 21st March, 2022 
Oil Prices Slip as U.S.–Iran Talks Ease Supply Disruption Fears 
South Korea Assures U.S. on Trade Deal Commitments Amid Tariff Concerns 
South Korea’s Weak Won Struggles as Retail Investors Pour Money Into U.S. Stocks 
Gold and Silver Prices Slide as Dollar Strength and Easing Tensions Weigh on Metals 
US-India Trade Bombshell: Tariffs Slashed to 18% — Rupee Soars, Sensex Explodes 
U.S. Stock Futures Edge Higher as Tech Rout Deepens on AI Concerns and Earnings 
Australia’s December Trade Surplus Expands but Falls Short of Expectations 
Australia’s building approvals were down sharply in July, largely in payback from the strong gain in June and as we expected. Apartments drove the bulk of the fall, again as expected given the strength of this category in the prior month. Dwelling approvals are clearly trending lower, consistent with the signal from the housing finance data, according to the latest report from ANZ Research.
The country’s residential building approvals fell 5.2 percent m/m in July, close to what was expected. The already strong result for June was revised up a touch. Total residential approvals are down close to 6 percent y/y, the weakest result since August last year. Dwelling construction made a positive contribution to GDP growth in both Q1 and Q2 of this year, but is set to fade from this point on.
The strong gain in the value of non-residential approvals, up 31.5 percent m/m, reflects a big jump in office approvals in NSW especially and Victoria to a lesser extent. Non-residential approvals can be very lumpy from the month-to-month but the strength in July is encouraging and it was sufficient to mean the value of non-residential approvals is no longer trending lower.
