By Trevor Hunnicutt, Steve Holland and Mike Stone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden pleaded with Republicans on Wednesday for a fresh infusion of military aid for Ukraine, warning that a victory for Russia over Ukraine would leave Moscow in position to attack NATO allies and could draw U.S. troops into a war.

Biden spoke as the United States planned to announce $175 million in additional Ukraine aid from its dwindling supply of money for Kyiv. He signaled a willingness to make significant changes to U.S. migration policy along the border with Mexico to try to draw Republican support.

"If Putin takes Ukraine, he won’t stop there," Biden said. Putin will attack a NATO ally, he predicted, and then "we’ll have something that we don't seek and that we don't have today: American troops fighting Russian troops," Biden said.

“We can’t let Putin win,” he said.

The White House warned this week that the U.S. is running out of time and money to help Ukraine repel Russia's invasion.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, in a phone interview with Reuters about building up Ukraine's defense industrial base, said the U.S. was sticking to its long-held position not to pressure Ukraine into negotiations with Russia.

"That's going to have to be up to them. We're just going to keep fighting day in and day out to try to secure this money," Sullivan said.

"We're going to keep making the case that it would be a historic mistake for the United States to walk away from Ukraine at this moment and we believe that argument will ultimately penetrate and prevail," he said.

He said Biden is prepared to have "reasonable, responsible discussions to produce a bipartisan outcome on border policy and border sources."

By mid-November, the U.S. Defense Department had used 97% of $62.3 billion in supplemental funding it had received and the State Department had used all of the $4.7 billion in military assistance funding it had been allocated, U.S. budget director Shalanda Young said this week.

A U.S. official said Washington has less than $1 billion in "replenishment authority." This means that if Congress does not provide new funds to buy replacement equipment, the U.S., Ukraine and arms makers may have to take other steps to backfill stocks.

Border security with Mexico is a major issue weighing on the negotiations about Ukraine and Israel funding.

House and Senate Republicans are backing renewed construction of a border wall, former President Donald Trump's signature goal, while deeming large numbers of migrants ineligible for asylum and reviving a controversial policy under which asylum seekers are told to remain in Mexico while their immigration case is heard.

Biden said he was willing to make "significant" compromises on the border issue but said Republicans will not get everything they want. He did not provide details.

"This has to be a negotiation," he said.

Biden, who had discussed Ukraine in a virtual summit with G7 leaders earlier on Wednesday, said U.S. allies are prepared to continue supporting Ukraine in its 22-month war to repel Russian invaders.

"Extreme Republicans are playing chicken with our national security, holding Ukraine's funding hostage to an extreme partisan border policy," said Biden.

By Sarah Marsh

BERLIN (Reuters) - The EU should join forces with African countries to reform the World Trade Organization's (WTO) subsidy rules as a way to counter Chinese market distortions and diplomatic influence, the German Economic Institute (IW) argued in a paper on Wednesday.

The IW, which is financed by prominent German business associations and carries weight among Berlin policymakers, published the paper ahead of an EU-China summit in Beijing on Thursday and Friday.

The issue of unfair competition is expected to top the agenda, three months after the European Commission launched an anti-subsidy probe into Chinese electric vehicles.

Reform is to be a key topic at the WTO's 13th ministerial conference (MC13) in February, although it requires a full consensus to make any substantive changes.

The WTO's Africa negotiating group has proposed reforming current subsidy rules to better support developing countries - for example allowing them to have local content requirements and to grant subsidies for environmental protection.

The IW argues in its new paper, seen by Reuters ahead of publication, that the EU should expand this initiative to also tighten subsidy rules on the world's top trading countries.

Those major players would be determined according to their share of global trade or income level. That means new rules would affect China, even though the WTO classifies it as a developing country.

Such a joint EU-African initiative could pressure China to accept reform and would help limit the growing global subsidy race.

"In addition, the EU could counter China’s attempt to present itself as the supporter of developing countries’ interests in Geneva," wrote Juergen Matthes and Samina Sultan, authors of the paper "Reforming the WTO’s subsidy rules –A new opportunity to tackle the global distortions of China’s state capitalism".

"If China blocked the... reform, it would also block the vital interests of the African Group and other developing countries in gaining more policy space for development."

By Stella Qiu

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's economy barely grew in the third quarter as exports flagged and households - reeling from a surge in mortgage payments - were reluctant to spend, suggesting rate hikes were working to restrain demand.

Marking an eighth straight quarter of growth, albeit its slowest in a year, real gross domestic product (GDP) inched 0.2% higher in July-September from the previous quarter. That was short of forecasts of 0.4% and a result that bolsters the case for the Reserve Bank of Australia to no longer need to tighten.

Annual GDP growth stood at 2.1%, little changed from the previous quarter, the data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday.

"Australia's economy hit the wall in the September quarter," said Andrew Hanlan, an economist at Westpac, adding it was surprising to see just how weak consumer spending was during the quarter.

"The intense headwinds of high inflation, sharply higher interest and additional tax obligations are having a significant impact, leading to a sharp decline in real household disposable income."

Indeed household spending was flat quarter on quarter and has barely grown for four quarters in a row, its worst stretch since the global financial crisis.

Income tax paid jumped 23% from a year ago after the expiry of a tax offset scheme and mortgage payments surged 71% as more people came off fixed-rate mortgages onto higher variable rates.

That pushed the household savings ratio to drop further to 1.1%, its lowest level since 2007.

The slowdown is seen as a necessary consequence of monetary tightening by the Reserve Bank of Australia so that inflation can be tamed back to its 2-3% target range. Inflation was 4.9% in October.

The central bank on Tuesday opted to stand pat to allow more time to assess the impact of a whopping 425 basis points jump in interest rates since May last year.

Markets now figure that the RBA doesn't have to hike any further, given the dovish turn from the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank in recent weeks, with aggressive rate cuts priced in for next year.

Gareth Aird, head of Australian economics at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC:CMWAY), said there was a clear risk that real GDP growth could turn negative in the fourth quarter.

He added that he believes rates have peaked and the easing cycle will start in the third quarter next year.

"A month ago the risks to our call were skewed towards rate cuts starting at a later date. But the run of both domestic and international data over the past month suggests the risks are now more evenly balanced."

Net exports subtracted 0.6 percentage points from gross domestic product as prices for some commodity exports fell.

Productivity - in the measure of output per hour worked - increased 0.9% in the quarter after four straight quarters of declines. RBA's forecasts of inflation returning to its 2%-3% target in late 2025 hinge on a pickup in productivity.

By Kevin Buckland

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asia-Pacific equities gained on Wednesday as bets firmed for a peak in interest rates among major central banks globally, as bond yields continued to decline.

Japanese government bond yields dipped to the lowest since mid-August as U.S. Treasury yields hovered close to a three-month trough.

Meanwhile, crude oil sank to a nearly five-month low, while bullion held steady after dropping back from an all-time high. Bitcoin traded just below $44,000 following its surge this week to a 20-month peak.

U.S. 10-year Treasury yields held steady at around 4.186% after touching 4.163% on Tuesday as cooling labour market data cemented views that the Federal Reserve is done hiking rates, with bets on a first cut coming by March now at around 64%, according to the CME Group's (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch tool.

Benchmark JGBs yields slid in sympathy, reaching the lowest since Aug. 16 at 0.62%.

Lower borrowing costs boosted equity markets, with big tech a particular beneficiary.

Japan's Nikkei surged 1.6%, rebounding from Tuesday's mid-November low, while Australia's stock benchmark jumped 1.4% and South Korea's KOSPI added 0.56%.

U.S. stock futures also pointed higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq indicated up 0.4% following a 0.31% advance overnight for the cash index. S&P 500 futures rose 0.26%, after the cash index ended Tuesday flat.

Overnight, U.S. jobs figures came in softer than expected, but coupled with robust services data, added to the narrative for a soft landing for the economy as the Fed shifts to monetary easing, analysts said.

The "selloff in yields across the curve is strong evidence of the intense focus the market has on this week's labour market data," with the ADP employment report due later on Wednesday and non-farm payrolls on Friday, said IG analyst Tony Sycamore.

For the Nasdaq, "although we remain bullish into year-end, we are not contemplating opening fresh longs at these levels," Sycamore added, recommending buying on dips instead.

Chinese equities underperformed on Wednesday, with sentiment fragile after ratings agency Moody's (NYSE:MCO) slapped a downgrade warning on China's credit rating.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.41%, supported mainly by a rally in tech, with a sector subindex climbing about 1%.

Mainland Chinese blue chips were flat.

With markets all but certain the Fed's next move is a cut, dovish rhetoric from European Central Bank officials overnight and the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to hold policy steady on Tuesday have stoked bets for a peak in rates globally. The Bank of Canada is widely expected to adopt a wait-and-see attitude later on Wednesday as well.

That has supported the U.S. currency's rebound from last week's nearly four-month low versus major peers, with the U.S. dollar index steady at around 103.95 on Wednesday, compared with a trough of 102.46 a week ago.

"The USD weakened when the Federal Reserve looked like they were cutting while other central banks were holding tight," said James Kniveton, a senior corporate FX dealer at Convera in Melbourne.

"Now that looks to be changing, and other central banks are following the Fed's lead."

The dollar added 0.08% to 147.265 yen, while the euro was little changed at $1.07935.

Gold was flat just below $2,020, catching its breath following its surge to a record $2,135.40 on Monday.

Bitcoin was steady at around $43,850 after pushing as high as $44,490 overnight, buoyed by both Fed rate cut expectations and speculation U.S regulators will soon approve exchange-traded spot bitcoin funds.

Crude eased further on Wednesday, weighed down by the worsening demand outlook from China, and doubts about the impact of OPEC cuts. [O/R]

Brent crude futures fell 8 cents, or 0.1%, to $77.12 a barrel, while U.S. WTI crude futures were down 13 cents, or 0.2%, at $72.19 a barrel. Both benchmarks closed at their lowest since July 6 in the previous session.

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. job openings dropped to more than a 2-1/2-year low in October, the strongest sign yet that demand for labor was cooling amid higher interest rates.

The Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Tuesday also showed that there were 1.34 vacancies for every unemployed person in October, the lowest since August 2021. There were fewer resignations, with workers generally staying put at their jobs, which over time could help to ease wage inflation.

Combined with data last week showing inflation subsiding in October, it bolstered optimism that the Federal Reserve was probably done raising interest rates this cycle, with financial markets and economists even anticipating a rate cut in mid-2024.

"These data will be welcome news for policymakers," said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in White Plains, New York. "The data support our view that rates are at a peak and the Fed's next move will be a rate cut, likely in second quarter of 2024."Job openings, a measure of labor demand, fell 617,000 to 8.733 million on the last day of October, the lowest level since March 2021, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Data for September was revised lower to show 9.350 million job openings instead of the previously reported 9.553 million.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 9.30 million job openings in October. The largest monthly decline in vacancies since May was led by the health care and social assistance sector, where unfilled jobs dropped by 236,000.

Job openings decreased by 168,000 in the finance and insurance industry, while real estate, rental and leasing had 49,000 fewer positions. But job openings increased by 39,000 in the information sector.

The job openings rate dropped to 5.3% from 5.6% in September. Hiring slipped 18,000 to 5.886 million. Hiring dropped 110,000 in the accommodation and food services industry, which had been the biggest driver for job growth since the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The hires rates dipped to 3.7% from 3.8% in the prior month.

Resignations slipped 18,000 to 3.628 million. The quits rate, viewed as a measure of labor market confidence, was unchanged at 2.3% for the fourth consecutive month. Declining quits point to slower wage growth and ultimately price pressures in the economy.

The Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged next Wednesday. Since March 2022, the central bank has raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by 525 basis points to the current 5.25%-5.50% range. Though the labor market is slowing, it is only doing so only gradually.

Layoffs rose 32,000 to a still-low 1.642 million in October. The layoffs rate was unchanged at 1.0%.

The government is expected to report on Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased by 185,000 jobs in November, according to a Reuters survey of economists, boosted by the return of about 33,000 striking United Auto Workers union members. Payrolls increased by 150,000 positions in October.

November's anticipated job count would be below the average monthly gain of 258,000 over the prior 12 months.

By Casey Hall and Amy Lv

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - Gold buyers in China are getting younger, as a property market downturn, weakening stocks and currency and low bank deposit interest rates have left them with dwindling options to save for rainy days in a sputtering economy.

The trend underscores heightening uncertainty about growth prospects in the world's second-largest economy, which has not recovered from COVID-19 lockdowns as fast as consumers and job hunters had expected.

"The employment market has not been very good," said Linda Liu, 26, who works for a pharmaceuticals company in Beijing, but worries about job stability. "Buying gold makes me feel better."

"I want gold jewellery instead of diamonds for my wedding."

China is the world's top buyer of physical gold and analysts say this year it has been an increasingly important driver behind a rally in global spot gold prices, which hit all-time highs on Monday.

Analysts expect Chinese demand for the safe haven metal to remain high as economic growth grinds lower in coming years and foreign investment outflows weigh on the yuan, while the property market is still looking for a bottom.

"Incomes are not really appreciating, real estate is not really appreciating, the stock market is not really appreciating," said Jacques Roizen, managing director of consulting at Digital Luxury Group in Shanghai.

"Gold is a little bit of a unicorn in this environment."

Gold and silver jewellery have been among the best performing consumer goods in China this year, with a 12% rise in value year-on-year in January-October, outpaced only by garments, according to the latest retail sales data.

A Chinese consumer survey released by jewellery firm Chow Tai Fook in late October found 70% of consumers aged between 18 and 40 intend to purchase pure gold jewellery.

While China has long been a top global consumer of gold jewellery, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group (OTC:CJEWF) managing director Kent Wong said that traditionally, customers in China have been older.

"We've found people aged 18 to 24 have started to buy gold jewellery, and we were very surprised by this," Wong said.

Chinese social media discussions about steady gold accumulation abound, with users recommending small jewellery and marble-like gold "beans" as small as one gram that could be purchased even by those with low incomes for 450 to 550 yuan ($63 to $77).

Beijing student Nadia Qi, 21, has spent as little as she could of her pocket money on daily necessities while spending more than $2,000 on gold bars and jewellery so far this year.

"The only thing that I can trust and makes me feel relatively safe now is investing in gold," said Qi, who plans to buy at least 20 grams a year for rainy days. "The deposit rate is way too low, and investing in the stock market is too risky."

The one-year deposit rate at major Chinese banks ranges from about 1.5% to 1.8% and has declined in recent months.

China and India, the world's two biggest gold buyers, together account for more than half of total global demand.

In China, gold trades at a premium to the global spot price. That spread has been $25 to $35 per ounce in the past week, down from a record high of $121 in mid-September, but still above its usual $5 to $15 range.

Office worker Yang, 38, from the central Hunan province, is not discouraged by the rise in gold prices, arguing "the yuan has been depreciating, financial investment is too risky ... and the property market remains disappointing."

"There are not many choices left," said Yang, who only gave her surname for privacy reasons. "Gold is like hard currency, and this is especially true in the face of mounting geopolitical uncertainties for the moment."

($1 = 7.1424 Chinese yuan renminbi)

At the COP28 climate event in Dubai, a significant new initiative was launched to combat methane emissions in the oil sector, particularly within developing countries. The Global Flaring and Methane Reduction Partnership, backed by the World Bank, has established a $255 million fund aimed at reducing methane leaks, a potent greenhouse gas.

Key industry players including BP (NYSE:BP), Eni, Equinor, Occidental Petroleum Corp (NYSE:OXY)., Shell (LON:SHEL) Plc., and TotalEnergies (EPA:TTEF) SE have each pledged $25 million to the initiative. The United Arab Emirates has made a notable contribution of $100 million to lead the country donations.

While many oil majors are rallying behind this cause, Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) has taken a different approach. The company is directing its efforts towards internal carbon reduction projects and has decided against joining the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter. This charter targets near-zero methane emissions by decade's end. Chevron has also chosen not to contribute financially to the World Bank’s new initiative but is investing $2 billion in its own projects aimed at curbing emissions.

Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM)., on the other hand, while supportive of the goals set forth by the partnership, is in talks to provide technical expertise rather than direct funding. The company is considering offering technical assistance for emission control, specializing in methane detection and abatement training. This support aligns with the eligibility criteria for World Bank funding which requires companies to commit to less than 0.2% methane intensity, eliminate routine flaring by 2030, and maintain transparent emissions reporting.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

(Reuters) - New orders for U.S.-made goods fell more than expected in October, marking the biggest monthly drop in roughly three and a half years, constrained by weakening demand for durable goods and transportation equipment and bolstering the view that high interest rates are beginning to bite into spending.

Factory orders fell 3.6% after a downwardly revised 2.3% in

September, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Monday, the biggest monthly drop since April 2020. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast orders would decline 2.8%. Orders advanced 0.5% on an annual basis in October.

The manufacturing sector, buoyed by a jump in spending on goods in the third quarter, is increasingly feeling the strain of higher interest rates and adds to signs the economy will more meaningfully slow in the fourth quarter. The sector accounts for 11.1% of the economy.

Orders for durable goods fell 5.4%, with orders for transportation equipment slumping 14.7%. Machinery orders decreased 0.3%. Electrical equipment, appliances and components orders fell 1.1%. Manufacturing non-durables declined 1.9%.

Shipments of manufactured goods fell 1.4%. Manufactured goods inventories edged up 0.1%, while unfilled orders rose 0.3%.

The government also reported that orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, which are seen as a measure of business spending plans on equipment, declined 0.3% instead of 0.1% as reported in last month's estimate.

Shipments of these so-called core capital goods were flat from the previous month. Business spending on equipment contracted in the third quarter.

Investing.com-- The Reserve Bank of Australia kept interest rates on hold as expected on Tuesday, citing the need for more macroeconomic data to spur another rate decision, but warned that risks from high inflation still remained in play. 

In its final meeting for 2023, the RBA kept its official cash target rate at 4.35%, as widely expected. The bank had hiked rates by 25 basis points in October, citing a recent uptick in inflation. While price pressures have cooled somewhat since then, consumer price index inflation still remains well above the RBA’s 2%-3% annual target range, and is only expected to fall within the range by mid-to-late 2025.

RBA Governor Michele Bullock said in a note that there were still “significant uncertainties” around the outlook on inflation, particularly that high global services price inflation could spill over into Australia.

She also noted that while the economy had cooled under high interest rates, it still remained largely resilient, which presented more upside risks to inflation. 

Bullock reiterated the RBA’s data-driven approach to future monetary policy decisions. The Australian dollar slid 0.7% after the rate decision, given that the RBA offered no tangible cues on future rate decisions.

“Higher interest rates are working to establish a more sustainable balance between aggregate supply and demand in the economy. The impact of the more recent rate rises, including last month's, will continue to flow through the economy,” Bullock said. 

The RBA governor had repeatedly warned of potential stickiness in inflation, especially due to resilient demand for goods and services. While retail spending also cooled somewhat this year, it remained near record levels in October. 

Analysts at Westpac had forecast that the RBA will keep rates steady in December, and will be better positioned to make a rate decision in its February meeting. 

Third-quarter gross domestic product data is due later in the week, although an unexpected current account deficit and a sharp drop in exports bode poorly for the reading. 

The RBA hiked rates by a cumulative 425 basis points since mid-2022, as it moved to curb a post-COVID spike in inflation. A bulk of these hikes were enacted under then Governor Philip Lowe, whose tenure ended in September 2023. 

His successor, Bullock, will oversee a string of changes for the central bank through 2024, including an overhaul of the bank’s meeting schedules, as well as the implementation of measures giving the bank more autonomy in its operations. 

By Jeff Mason, Patricia Zengerle and Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States is running out of time and money to help Ukraine fight its war against Russia, White House officials warned on Monday.

Democratic President Joe Biden's administration in October asked Congress for nearly $106 billion to fund ambitious plans for Ukraine, Israel and U.S. border security but Republicans who control the House with a slim majority rejected the package.

White House budget director Shalanda Young, in a letter to Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, and other congressional leaders, said cutting off funding and a flow of weapons would "kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield" and increase the likelihood of Russian victories.

"I want to be clear: without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from U.S. military stocks," Young wrote in the letter released by the White House. "There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment. We are out of money - and nearly out of time."

Congress has approved more than $110 billion for Ukraine since Russia's February 2022 invasion but it has not approved any funds since Republicans took over the House from Democrats in January.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday night that Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelenskiy has been invited to address senators via secure video on Tuesday as part of a classified briefing to hear what is at stake.

The closed briefing for senators is scheduled for 3 p.m. EST on Tuesday and will feature U.S. national security officials.

The House and Senate last approved $45 billion in military, financial and humanitarian aid for Ukraine as part of a broader annual spending bill passed in December 2022.

Bipartisan talks about U.S. border security funding, which Republicans want to link to Ukraine funding, have sputtered in the Democrat-controlled Senate, several sources said on Monday.

Republicans have proposed significant changes as large numbers of immigrants arrive at the southern border with Mexico that Democrats argue would virtually shut down any asylum possibilities for migrants.

Johnson on social media said that Biden's administration has "failed to substantively address" Republican concerns about Ukraine strategy and said that any national security spending package must address U.S. border policies.

"We believe both issues can be agreed upon if Senate Democrats and the White House will negotiate reasonably," Johnson wrote on X, formerly called Twitter.

The House's failure to consider the White House request has raised concerns that funding for Kyiv might never be approved, especially after it passed a bill in November with funding for Israel but not Ukraine. The Senate's Democratic leaders rejected that bill.

Biden administration officials are expected to hold classified briefings for the House and Senate on Tuesday. The White House letter also went to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.

'UP TO CONGRESS'

Biden, who is running for re-election in 2024, has rallied NATO allies to back Ukraine and said repeatedly that Russian President Vladimir Putin underestimated the West's resolve in supporting its neighbor against Russian aggression.

"Now it's up to Congress. Congress has to decide whether to continue to support the fight for freedom in Ukraine ... or whether Congress will ignore the lessons we've learned from history and let Putin prevail. It is that simple," Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.

McConnell rejected the White House's strategy.

"Instead of engaging actively in the border security discussions required to complete a viable national security supplemental, the Biden administration has chosen to lecture - lecture - Congress with a brag reel of its supposed leadership in countering Putin in Europe," he said in remarks on the Senate floor.

Young said U.S. allies had stepped up their support for Ukraine, but that Washington's support could not be replaced.

By mid-November, the U.S. Defense Department had used 97% of $62.3 billion in supplemental funding it had received and the State Department had used all of the $4.7 billion in military assistance fund it had been allocated, she wrote.

Around $27.2 billion in economic aid money had been used up, as had $10 billion in humanitarian assistance.

Young said helping Ukraine "prevents larger conflict in the region that could involve NATO and put U.S. forces in harm's way and deters future aggression, making us all safer."

With a nod to important political swing states and Republican strongholds ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Young noted that funding could be used for contracts with companies in Alabama, Texas, Georgia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Michigan.