Sanctions are forcing Russia to find alternative settlement currencies to the US dollar to ensure the security of the country’s economy, according to President Vladimir Putin.“We are moving to the de-dollarization of the economy. We are doing so not because we want to undermine the dollar, but because we want to ensure our security. We are constantly facing sanctions, they do not give us the opportunity to work in dollars,” Putin said on Thursday at the Valdai Discussion Club meeting in Sochi. Source RT
The Bank of Korea’s rate cut today is a mere reversal of a 25 basis point hike in November 2018 rather than a real policy stimulus for the economy, which is close to or already in recession. We believe this is just the beginning of the easing cycle. Source ING
Japan logged a goods trade deficit of ¥888.8 billion ($8.2 billion) in the first half of 2019, weighed down by sluggish exports to other Asian countries amid intensifying trade tensions between the United States and China, government data showed Thursday. Source Japan Times
The US deficit is projected to surpass $1tn in 2019, the largest it’s been outside of the four-year period following the Great Recession. Source Independent
