Japan Steel Works: Crude steel production reached 2.15 million tons in February, a year-on-year increase of 4.9%.

Federation of Indian Automobile Dealers Association (FADA): Automobile retail sales increased by 13% year-on-year in February 2024.

RBNZ President Orr will speak at an event in London on March 12-13.

Spot palladium rose 4.00% during the day and is now at $1,032.65 per ounce.

BMO: While no one should say with 100% certainty that the ECB will not make any changes, March is really early. We stand by our view that the Governing Council will wait until June to cut interest rates, when it can be more confident that inflation will move towards the 2% target in time.

U.S. White House Press Secretary Jean Pierre: The President will make it clear in his State of the Union address that he will continue to fight to reduce household costs.

According to Nikkei: Panasonic is considering increasing investment in Kansas, USA.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission: In the digital economy, will focus on consumer protection and fair trading issues for small businesses.

TD Securities: With inflation clearly headed in the right direction, the ECB should be able to make straightforward choices. We do not anticipate significant changes in wording or forecasts.

Japan Federation of Trade Unions (UA Zensen): Full-time workers have received a 6.7% wage increase so far, including a 5.15% increase in base wages, which is higher than last year.

Japan Federation of Trade Unions (UA Zensen): So far, 25 branch unions have received a comprehensive response from management to their demands.

The Nikkei 225 index fell back below 40,000 points, down 0.33% on the day.

Market news: The US military attacked two drones belonging to the Houthi armed forces.

Bank of Japan review member Junko Nakagawa: It is expected that the positive cycle will gradually strengthen, that is, income growth leads to more spending, allowing the economy to exceed the potential growth rate.

Bank of Japan review member Junko Nakagawa: We have noticed that small and medium-sized companies are better able to obtain higher prices for their goods.

Bank of Japan review member Junko Nakagawa: The main scenario is that rising wages are expected to support consumer sentiment, but there is a risk that actual income will be lower than expected and put pressure on demand, the economy and prices.

Bank of Japan review member Junko Nakagawa: Consumer inflation should not worsen, otherwise it will push Japan back into deflation.