Bank of Japan Governor Signals Accommodative Stance Amid Negative Real Rates 
Asian Currencies Hold Steady as Middle East Ceasefire Doubts Weigh on Markets 
Bank of America Maintains Forecast for Two Fed Rate Cuts in 2026 Despite Inflation Risks 
Gold Prices Rise on Weaker Dollar and Ceasefire Hopes 
Asian Markets Retreat as Gulf Crisis Fuels Oil Surge and Inflation Fears 
U.S. Natural Gas Market Faces Short-Term Pressure but Long-Term Demand Surge 
Federal Reserve Probes Big Banks Over Private Credit Exposure Amid Growing Systemic Risk Concerns 
Asia FX Weekly Gains Hold Amid U.S. Inflation Data and Iran Ceasefire Uncertainty 
Gold Prices Dip Amid Middle East Uncertainty and Inflation Fears 
White House Warns Staff Over Insider Trading Amid Suspicious Oil Market Bets 
China's Inflation Data Misses Forecasts as Consumer Prices Slow in March 
Foreign Investors Pour $18.65 Billion into Japanese Stocks Amid Market Stabilization 
Asian Stocks Rally on Ceasefire Hopes and Bargain Buying 
U.S. Futures Slip as Iran Ceasefire Uncertainty and CPI Data Weigh on Markets 
Spain's Sanchez Visits China to Deepen Trade Ties Amid U.S. Tensions 
Japan Consumer Confidence Drops Sharply Amid Rising Fuel Costs and Middle East Tensions 
BCA Research Warns U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Could Collapse, Maintains Cautious Equity Outlook 
South Korea's industrial output rose 0.7 percent on-month November due to improving exports, but consumption plunged for the second straight month amid a coronavirus resurgence.
However, the industrial output in November was a 0.6 percent on-year drop.
The mining, manufacturing, gas, and electricity industries gained a 0.3 percent production increase on-month in November, while the chips and display panels production also improved.
But retail sales dropped 0.9 percent from a month earlier, compared with a 1 percent on-month decline in October, the data showed. From a year earlier, they fell 1.5 percent, marking the second straight month of an on-year decline.
Sales of semidurable goods, such as clothes, plummeted 6.9 percent, while those of durable goods, such as cars, dipped 0.9 percent.
Meanwhile, sales of nondurable goods and food jumped 1.3 percent on-month.
Statistics Korea said the face-to-face service and retail sales sector may shrink in December due to increasing spiking COVID-19 cases.
On Dec. 8, the country tightened its virus curbs to Level 2.5 in the Seoul metropolitan area, where half of its 51.6 million population lived. It was Level 2 for the rest of the country.
