TOPWRAP 1-Singapore GDP boosts hopes of Asian Q2 revival

Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:48pm EDT
 
[-] Text [+]

* Singapore leaps out of recession in Q2

* Asian shares find relief in Wall St rally

* UK house prices fall more slowly-survey

* Australia business conditions up sharply in June

* U.S. and other economies may resume growth-Geithner (For more on the global crisis, click [nCRISIS])

By Nopporn Wong-Anan and Wayne Cole

SINGAPORE/SYDNEY, July 14 (Reuters) - Singapore's economy roared out of recession in the second quarter and a measure of Australian business conditions jumped in June, raising hopes Asia will lead a broader global recovery in the second half of 2009.

Asian shares rose on Tuesday, following a Wall Street rally sparked by positive comments on financial shares from an influential analyst ahead of a slew of bank earnings this week. [.N] [MKTS/GLOB] [.T]

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he was optimistic that some leading economies could see growth this year and there was brighter news on closely watched British house prices, with a survey showing the slowest decline in two years.

In Singapore, the first Asian economy to report gross domestic product data for April-June, GDP rose at an annualised and seasonally-adjusted rate of 20.4 percent, the fastest rate in nearly six years and following four quarters of contraction. [ID:nSIN495166] [ID:nSIN494639]

The figures were better than analysts had forecast, but they warned that doubts remained over the sustainability of the rebound given that demand in major export markets such as the United States and Europe was still weak.

"This will be the first of a number of GDP reports that will show Asia is recovering after a weak first quarter," said David Cohen of Action Economics.

"There is still a lot of uncertainty clouding the global outlook. The unemployment rate around the world is still edging higher, and the market is still nervous about how much momentum the recovery has."

All eyes will now be on China, the driver of the global economy in recent years, which is expected to report its second quarter data on Thursday, the first major economy to do so.

Economists polled by Reuters think China's growth accelerated to 7.5 percent year-on-year from 6.1 percent in the first quarter, still a shade below the 8 percent level the Chinese government considers necessary to create enough jobs for its population.

BUSINESS CONDITIONS  Continued...

 

Featured Broker sponsored link