ECB balance sheet

    THE European Central Bank’s (ECB) planned balance-sheet expansion is an expectation and not a target, Bundesbank chief was Jens Weidmann was quoted by an economist as saying on the sidelines of a central banking conference in Paris on Friday.

    Weidmann said that there were no tensions with ECB President Mario Draghi and that balance-sheet expansion was an “expectation, not a target,” Credit Agricole economist Frederik Ducrozet wrote on Twitter. He added that Weidmann gave no time table for expanding the balance sheet.

    TPP agreement

    JAPAN’S Economy Minister Akira Amari said Saturday he saw progress in Asia-Pacific regional trade negotiations, although it would be difficult to reach an agreement by the end of the year, according to Jiji press.

    Trade ministers from the 12 nations participating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact held talks on the sidelines of an annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) meeting in Beijing. The regional trade pact was stalled in September, as the U.S. and Japan, the two biggest economies participating in the trade deal, blamed the other for a stalemate over tariffs on farm products.

    Currency reserves

    UKRAINE’S foreign currency reserves plummeted by almost a quarter in October to US$12.6 billion from a month ago, the central bank said Friday, due to energy payments and support for the faltering hryvnia currency.

    Reserves are now at their lowest level since 2005 and the central bank, which drew from its coffers to help state energy firm Naftogaz service its multi-billion dollar debt to Russia, will have to dip into them further as further payments loom. “The dynamics (of the October fall) were influenced by the need to support Naftogaz (with) almost US$2 billion,” the bank said.