China’s central bank announced on Wednesday cut to the requirement ratio for bank reserves.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said it would cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for financial institutions by 0.5% from Feb. 5.

The cut will inject 1 trillion yuan of cash into the banking system, according to Pan Gongsheng, governor of the PBOC.

Pan said the bank would release policies on improving commercial property loans.

China saw shipments of 73.6 million smartphones in the last quarter, marking the end of ten consecutive quarterly decline.

Apple rose to the top spot in Chinese smartphone market last year with a market share of 16.8%, although Apple phone shipments fell 2.2% in 2023.

The country’s total smartphone shipments dropped 5% to 271.3 million units in 2023.

China kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Monday.

The country’s one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept at 3.45%, unchanged from the previous month.

The five year LPR remained unchanged at 4.2%.

The decision came after the central bank held its medium-term lending facility rate steady.

China will introduce more supportive policies and optimize services for foreign investors.

The country’s top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) will introduce policies including revising a negative list for foreign investment access and removing all restrictions in foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector.

Speaking at a press conference, Liu Sushe, deputy head of the NDRC said the commission would ease barriers faced by foreign investors by introducing pragmatic measures.

China’s electricity usage rose 6.7% in 2023 from the previous year, according to official data.

Power consumption reached 9.22 trillion kilowatt-hours last year, data from the National Energy Administration showed.

Consumption by the primary, secondary and tertiary industries increased 11.5%, 6.5% and 12.2% respectively.

Japan’s exports rose to record highs in December thanks to strong shipments to the US and China.

The country’s exports grew 9.8% to 9.65 trillion yen in December from a year earlier, data from the Ministry of Finance showed on Wednesday.

Exports to China rose 9.6% to 1.77 trillion yen in December while exports to the US surged 20.4%.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) urged tax and spending reforms in Italy in its latest economic survey of the country.

The organization said Italy should scale back pensions for the wealthiest and lower income taxes and raise the value-added tax.

The organization said Italy’s public spending on aging-related and debt servicing costs as a share of the GDP was to increase by 4.5% between 2023 and 2040.

International tourism numbers is expected to reach pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said.

International tourism is expected to fully recover pre-pandemic levels in 2024, with initial estimates pointing to 2% growth above 2019 levels, according to UNWTO.

In 2023, international tourism reached 88% of the pre-pandemic levels. Visits to Europe reached 94% of 2019 levels whereas Asia and the Pacific reached 65 of 2019 levels.

Germany’s producer prices fell 8.6% in December from a year earlier, down from November’s fall of 7.9%, official data showed.

Lower energy prices continued to be the main reason for the decline according to the Federal Statistical Office.

Metal prices fell 9.4% in December from a year earlier while the prices pries of basic chemicals dropped 10.4%.

Human-induced global warming, not El Niño was the primary cause of the exceptional draught for Amazon rainforest according to a new study.

Higher temperatures caused by climate change was the biggest reason for the drought in Amazon according to World Weather Attribution.

The Amazon River Basin has been in exceptional drought since mid-2023.