Presidents' Day News Round Up - Newsquawk Asia-Pac Market Open

US markets were closed for the holiday.
Chinese President Xi chaired a fourth meeting of the Central Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Commission and said they will continue to work on reformative measures to boost domestic demand and public confidence, as well as fend off risks, while they will improve fiscal, financial and investment policies to support green and low-carbon transformation.
Looking ahead, highlights include RBA Meeting Minutes, PBoC Loan Prime Rate, Supply from Japan.

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Highlights include RBA Meeting Minutes, PBoC Loan Prime Rate, Supply from Japan.
Click here for the Newsquawk Week Ahead.

US TRADE

DATA RECAP

US Manheim wholesale used vehicle index (mid-Feb) SA -0.9% M/M (prev. 0.0% in Jan) or -13.8% Y/Y (prev. -9.2% in Jan) from the full month of Feb 2023 to 202.1.

Three tankers with Russian Sokol oil onboard started to move to ports in China and India after being stored for three months, while two of the tankers are under US sanctions and are heading towards China.

MIDDLE EAST

Israeli military spokesperson said Israeli forces struck a weapons depot in southern Lebanon's Sidon.
EU Foreign Policy Chief Borrell said 26 EU countries called for an immediate humanitarian pause that would lead to a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza.
US proposed a rival draft UN Security Council resolution that would underscore 'support for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practicable' and would determine that a major ground offensive into Rafah would further harm civilians and potentially displace them into neighbouring countries. Furthermore, it stated that a major ground offensive into Rafah should not proceed under current circumstances, according to Reuters.
Yemen’s Houthis said they attacked two US ships in the Gulf of Aden, while they also confirmed that they attacked a UK ship over the weekend which resulted in its sinking. In relevant news, UKMTO reported an incident with a vessel 90NM west of Jizan, Saudi Arabia.
US Pentagon is reportedly investigating the cause of a crash of an American military surveillance drone off the coast of Yemen on Monday morning, according to NYT citing US officials.
EU foreign ministers approved the deployment of an EU naval mission to protect shipping from Houthi militants in the Red Sea, according to diplomats cited by dpa.
IAEA Chief said Iran continues to enrich uranium just short of weapons-grade level, according to Reuters.

OTHER

Ukrainian President Zelensky said the front-line situation is extremely difficult where Russian troops are concentrated and that Russia is exploiting delays in aid, according to Reuters.
US is reportedly considering imposing sanctions on Chinese companies it believes are helping Russia in its war in Ukraine, according to CNBC.
Hungary’s Foreign Minister said the EU continues its mistaken strategy with a new package of sanctions against Russia but added that Hungary will not veto the new sanctions, while the Foreign Minister added that Hungary could discuss a deepening of defence cooperation with Sweden if Sweden’s PM came to Budapest for a visit.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

Chinese President Xi chaired a fourth meeting of the Central Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Commission and said they will continue to work on reformative measures to boost domestic demand and public confidence, as well as fend off risks, while they will improve fiscal, financial and investment policies to support green and low-carbon transformation.
China will conduct a countrywide data resource survey and is to seek a base number of data resources, while it will speed the development and utilisation of data resources, as well as better implement the value of data elements.
EU Commission opened a formal proceeding against TikTok under the Digital Services Act, while EU's Breton said TikTok must fully comply with the DSA and has a particular role to play in the protection of minors online, according to Reuters.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

EU mandated a long 10-year EUR benchmark with the transaction to be launched on 20th February 2024, subject to market conditions.
Bundesbank said Germany is likely in a recession as external demand is weak and consumption also remains weak, while it added there is still no recovery in the German economy and output could decline again slightly in Q1 which would put the economy in a technical recession.