01 Apr, 2024

Inflation Rate in Laos Dips Slightly to 24.98% in March

Amidst a backdrop of economic challenges, Laos experienced a marginal decline in its inflation rate, dipping to 24.98 percent in March from February’s 25.35 percent, as reported by the Lao Statistic Bureau.The latest data reveals that the clothing and footwear sector witnessed the highest price surge, soaring by 36.23 percent year-on-year. Following closely were the hotel and restaurant sectors at 35.90 percent and medical care and medicines at 34.61 percent.Contributing to the inflationary pressures were alcohol and tobacco, registering a 26.42 percent increase, household goods at 26.39 percent, food and non-alcoholic beverages at 23.61 percent, and communications and transportation at 23.58 percent.The primary driving force behind this inflationary trend is the weakened Lao currency, the kip, against major foreign currencies such as the US dollar, Thai baht, and Chinese Yuan, which are extensively utilized for imports in Laos.Comparatively, the kip has depreciated by 18.6 percent against the US dollar and by 21.5 percent against the Thai baht compared to the same period last year. Additionally, increased fuel prices and inefficiencies in managing domestic goods and services pricing have exacerbated the situation.In response to these challenges, Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, at the March cabinet meeting, pledged to address economic woes by boosting productivity, diversifying exports, and augmenting revenue from the mining and tourism sectors.Despite the hurdles, the government aims to reduce the country’s inflation rate by 9 percent by the end of 2024.In the first quarter of 2024, Laos recorded an overall inflation rate of 24.93 percent compared to the previous year, with January at 24.4 percent, February at 25.35 percent, and March at 24.98 percent.

27 Mar, 2024

Global Crypto Funds Saw Record Net Outflows of Nearly $1 Billion Last Week

Quick Take① Crypto investment products witnessed record outflows last week, with $942 million exiting funds globally, according to CoinShares.② This represents the first weekly net outflows witnessed following a seven-week streak of inflows totaling $12.3 billion.Crypto funds at asset managers such as BlackRock, Bitwise, Fidelity, Grayscale, ProShares and 21Shares registered record outflows totaling $942 million globally last week, according to CoinShares’ latest report.Last week’s outflows nearly doubled the prior record of $500 million set toward the end of January and follow a seven-week inflow streak totaling $12.3 billion — including the $2.9 billion of record inflows witnessed during the week before last.Trading volume for crypto investment products dropped a third to $28 billion for the week while the price correction in the underlying cryptocurrencies saw $10 billion wiped off the funds’ assets under management. The combined AUM remains above prior cycle highs at $88 billion.Newborn spot Bitcoin ETFs not enough to offset Grayscale outflowsOver $1 billion worth of inflows into the newborn spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S. were not enough to overcome nearly $2 billion in outflows from Grayscale’s converted GBTC fund.“We believe the recent price correction led to hesitancy from investors, leading to much lower inflows into new ETF issuers in the U.S., which saw $1.1 billion inflows, partially offsetting incumbent Grayscale’s significant $2 billion outflows last week,” CoinShares Head of Research James Butterfill wrote.Given the dominance of the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, those funds unsurprisingly led the flows, contributing $904 million, or 96%, of the net outflows last week. Meanwhile, short-bitcoin investment products saw minor outflows of $3.7 million.Poor sentiment not just focused toward US or BitcoinPoor sentiment last week was not just focused toward the U.S.-based funds or bitcoin in general. Crypto investment products based in Sweden, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Germany also witnessed outflows of $37 million, $35 million, $25 million and $4 million, respectively. Although, Brazil and Canada-based funds bucked the trend with inflows totaling $9 million and $8.4 million.Ethereum, Solana and Cardano-based investment products also suffered, generating outflows of $34 million, $5.6 million and $3.7 million, respectively. However, the rest of the altcoin-related funds fared better, registering net inflows of $16 million, including Polkadot ($5 million), Avalanche ($2.9 million) and Litecoin ($2 million).