Mongolia reports first COVID-19 case www.xinhuanet.com

A French national has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, becoming the first confirmed COVID-19 case in Mongolia, the State Emergency Commission said Tuesday.

Mongolia restricting entry from countries with widespread transmission of Covid-19 www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. In order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, Covid-19, Mongolia extended the suspension of flights to and from South Korea, Japan, Irkutsk, and Ulan-Ude until March 28.

BoM: Export may slow down by USD 1.6 billion in 2020 www.zgm.mn

Bank of Mongolia (BoM) expected Mongolia’s total export to dive by USD 1.6 billion to USD 6.06 billion in 2020. BoM lowered its coal export outlook in regard to mineral resources, especially coal export plunges off in the first two months of this year. Mongolia’s export decreased by 35.9 percent in the first quarter of 2020, mainly driven by coal export shrinks. Particularly, the downward accounts for 19 percentage point out of 29.5 percent of coal export weaken in the first two months, said BoM. Further, coal exports are projected to fall by 5.6 million tons or USD 354.9 million from the previous quarter. Mongolian Alt LLC, one of the big exporter companies, informed earlier that the company had failed to reach its plan to produce seven million tons of coal this year. SouthGobi Resources also said that restricting coal exports would affect its sales. The central bank has also lowered its forecasts for iron ore exports by 720,000 tons or USD 53.7 million, and crude oil exports by 720,000 tons or USD 53.7 million. BoM assumed that copper export volume is expected to drop by 5900 tons but copper export will rise by USD 32.7 million with better price projection from the previous quarter. Oyu Tolgoi (OT) has not been ceased its coal concentrate export during the quarantine. However, China’s coal import has been reduced according to the border administrations. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said that China’s copper demand will be diminished triggering global economic growth to slow down. The Bank of Merril Lynch speculated that copper prices will fall this year to USD 4,400 per ton if the worst perspective of OECD is achieved.

Fitch Ratings affirms MMC rating at “B” www.zgm.mn

Fitch Ratings has estimated HSX-listed Mongolian Mining Corporation (MMC)’s ratings at ‘B’. The outlook is stable, according to the estimation. The Government has banned coal export until March 15 in consideration of preventing coronavirus outbreak. However, MMC had already intensified extractions to enhance stockpiles on both sides of China and Mongolia ahead of shut down borders. The company would be ready to resume its sales via inventoryde-stocking. According to the Fitch Ratings, steel demand is weak in China due to low resumption of construction activities, which has led to turn down in steel product prices, while coking-coal inventories at steel mills are running low and would need to be re-stocked in the near future. Chinese coking coal producers are experiencing difficulties as transportation gets restricted and the low availability of labor. This could lead to high demand for coking coal from other sources such as MMC. Furthermore, MMC is likely to hike its coal export within five years by advancing entry both from and into China.

Mongolia extends period of flight suspensions www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. The State Emergency Commission yesterday decided to extend the period of suspensions of flights to and from South Korea, Japan, Irkutsk, and Ulan-Ude until March 28.

Coronavirus: Foreigners leave N Korea on first commercial flight for weeks www.bbc.com

Around 60 foreigners who were quarantined for weeks in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, have finally left the country.

Bill on giving visa online and at border checkpoints presented www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On March 5, Minister of Justice and Home Affairs Ts.Nyamdorj presented the bill on amending the Law on legal status of foreign nationals that was discussed by the Cabinet to Speaker G.Zandanshatar.

The Hu’s Star Wars song hits a million views on YouTube www.news.mn

‘Sugaan Essena’, a new song by Mongolian “hunnu-rock” band, ‘the Hu’s has viewed over a million times on YouTube. The song was made for the Respawn Entertainment video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The song was released on 19 February.

Oil plunges in Asia as producers start price war www.bbc.com

Oil prices crashed in Asia on Monday by more than 20% in what analysts are calling the start of a price war.

Central banks search for answers to virus impact www.bloomberg.com

Global central bankers enter a new week under fresh pressure to outline the next steps in their battle to address the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Policymakers got a wake-up call last week as the Federal Reserve’s emergency interest rate cut did little restore confidence, leaving officials hunting for innovative ways to add stimulus that can have a more targeted effect on the disruption caused by the virus.

The first institution to have grapple with that conundrum this week is the European Central Bank, which meets on Thursday. While Christine Lagarde has less room to act than the Fed, investors nonetheless see a good chance of a rate cut, while economists are eyeing up ways the institution could adopt to funnel money into the economy.

“The Fed’s attempt at calming markets didn’t have the desired effect, meaning central banks need to weigh their limited options carefully,” according to Bloomberg Economics’ Jamie Rush. “The ECB’s problem is that inaction would tighten financial conditions,” said Rush, who predicts policymakers in Frankfurt will reduce the deposit rate by 10 basis point and launch a new targeted refinancing operation.

Elsewhere, investors will be on the lookout for clues for how global central banks and governments will fine-tune their actions. The U.K. government will unveil its response at Wednesday’s budget, with a package of fiscal measures that could be supplemented by Bank of England support.

Here’s what happened last week and below is our weekly wrap of what else is going on in the world economy this week.

Asia
China’s economic data this week will provide a glimpse of how badly the virus has hurt the real economy. Chinese numbers published Saturday showed exports fell more than expected in the first two months of this year and inflation data due Tuesday will offer more insight on supply disruptions, while Taiwan’s trade figures on Monday will show the impact on supply chains.

Japan releases revised estimates for GDP on Monday and central bank officials in Australia and New Zealand will give speeches outlining what the virus outbreak means for monetary policy. India publishes inflation data later in the week, which will guide calls for a possible interest rate cut in coming months.

Europe, Middle East and Africa
The U.K. is set to deliver its first response to the economic threat posed by the outbreak on Wednesday when Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak outlines the budget. Investors expect the Bank of England to follow with an interest-rate cut later this month.

Ukraine’s central bank is set to cut interest rates, while Serbia is likely to pause for a fourth meeting. Mauritius’s central bank also holds its monetary policy committee meeting, its first after its top management was changed and a governor was appointed.

On the data front, euro-area industrial production numbers will show the state of play in January just before China became engulfed by the virus outbreak that has since spread across the globe. Israel expects to confirm the economy ended last year on an upswing when it releases GDP data for the fourth quarter. And in South Africa, a quarterly business confidence index will probably show sentiment in the economy has deteriorated even further in the first three months of the year.

U.S.
The Federal Reserve is in blackout next week with no scheduled speeches just as investor fears over spreading coronavirus intensify bets that the central bank will cut rates again at its meeting March 17-18. Traders will also be watching for next week’s economic data including job claims, trade and consumer sentiment data to gauge the impact of the health crisis on the economy.

Latin America
On Monday, data in Mexico will likely show inflation last month accelerated further above target, raising the odds that policymakers will keep their key rate unchanged at their March 26 meeting.

In Brazil, Wednesday’s consumer price report should show inflation in February slowed below the year-end target of 4%. The report takes on added significance after policymakers last week said the coronavirus outbreak poses a bigger risk of stalling the economy than reigniting inflation, suggesting they won’t end Brazil’s record easing cycle when they meet next week. Peru’s central bank will probably cut rates when it meets on Thursday.

(Reporting by David Goodman with assistance from Alaa Shahine, Margaret Collins, Nasreen Seria, Rene Vollgraaff and Robert Jameson).