China’s Q1 Recovery Faces Growing Risks as Iran War Clouds Global Outlook CHINA: China’s economy expanded 5.0% year-on-year in the Q1 of 2026, beating forecasts and placing growth at the top end of Beijing’s full-year target range. Strong exports drove the early-year momentum, but the Iran war has raised concerns over higher energy costs, supply chain disruptions, and weaker global demand. The conflict is already pushing up input prices for manufacturers. Peng Xin, general ma

Retail sales USA: National Retail Federation projects that retail sales will grow by 4.4% in 2026 compared to 2025, reaching approximately $5.6 trillion. This forecast is based on a newly enhanced methodology developed in collaboration with Oxford Economics. The projected growth is higher than the 10-year average annual increase of 3.6%, excluding the pandemic-affected period from 2020 to 2022. Source: National Retail federation

Monetary Authority of Singapore Slightly Tightens Policy Amid Inflation Risks and Slowing Growth Singapore: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) slightly increased the rate of appreciation of its S$NEER policy band while keeping its width and midpoint unchanged, citing heightened inflation and growth risks due to evolving Middle East tensions and rising energy costs. Singapore’s GDP grew 4.6% in Q1 2026, below the expected 5.9%, and contracted 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, wh

International Monetary Fund Forecasts Slower Euro Zone Growth and Rising Inflation Amid Energy Risks Europe: The International Monetary Fund stated that Eurozone growth is expected to slow to 1.1% in 2026 from 1.4% in 2025, below the earlier 1.3% estimate, due to the impact of the Iran war and persistently high energy costs, while inflation is projected to rise to 2.6% from 2.1%. The region’s heavy reliance on energy imports, compounded by the effects of the Russia-Ukraine Wa

Energy Efficiency MIDDLE EAST: All government facilities have been instructed to implement energy conservation measures to reduce electricity consumption where feasible, as part of efforts to manage energy use amid the ongoing Middle East conflict. In a joint statement on April 8, the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment and the National Environment Agency outlined steps such as setting air conditioners at 25°C or higher and switching off or unplugging non-essential