MANILA: Philippine money supply grew 7.2 percent year-on-year in February, up from 5.2 percent annual growth in January, suggesting interest rates cuts are prompting banks to increase lending which could fuel economic growth.

February's growth in M3 money supply was the highest since October, the central bank said. Preliminary data, released on the bank's website earlier this month, showed M3 money supply grew at 6.67 percent in February.

"The acceleration in the growth of money supply can be traced to the combined impact of previous monetary easing measures undertaken by the BSP (central bank) in the form of reductions in the policy interest rates and the restoration of the level of liquidity reserves to pre-July 2001 levels," central bank governor Rafael Buenaventura said in the statement. -- Reuters

Japan industrial production up 1.2%

TOKYO: Output at Japan's mines and factories climbed a revised 1.2 percent in February, swept up by shipments to rebounding U.S. and Asian economies.

Industrial output rose 1.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis after falling 0.1 percent in January, a figure that was revised up from an earlier 1.5 percent drop, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.

But reflecting the severity of Japan's three-quarter-long recession, output was down 11.5 percent from a year earlier.

Inventories fell for a sixth straight month in February and most economists expect industrial output, swept up by shipments to rebounding U.S. and Asian economies, to keep churning ahead for most of the latter half of calendar 2002. -- Reuters

Thai car sales rev up 35%

BANGKOK: Thailand's first-quarter vehicle sales surged 35.5 percent year-on-year, boosted by an economic recovery, low interest rates and growing private consumption, the industry said Wednesday.

January-March vehicle sales reached 83,655 units, with March alone hitting 32,126 units, said industry statistics compiler Toyota Motors Thailand.

Impressive first-quarter growth was reported in every auto sector including 17.6 percent for passenger cars, 43.2 percent in pick-ups and 44.6 percent for commercial vehicles.

"The significant growth in the one-ton pick-up truck and commercial vehicle sectors reflected rosy recovery of economy in line with revised growth forecasts of two to three percent by the National Economic and Social Development Board," Toyota said in a statement. -- AFP

Singapore's key exports down 17.3%

SINGAPORE: Singapore's key exports fell 17.3 percent in March from a year earlier as electronics remained weak, but the result was an improvement on February's 23.4 percent drop, official data showed Wednesday.

The fall in non-oil domestic exports (NODX), regarded as the best barometer of Singapore's trade performance, was within analysts' expectations.

Electronics exports fell 18.3 percent in March from a year ago, from 28.7 percent in February, while non-electronics exports fell 15.9 percent, from a fall of 14.2 percent in February.

Total trade declined 9.5 percent to S$35.805 billion (US$19.5 billion) in March, with exports dipping 10.2 percent to S$18.352 billion.

Among the major electronics products, semiconductor exports were down by 34.6 percent in March, from a steep drop of 51.2 percent in February, while computer disk drives fell 21.2 percent from 27.7 percent. -- AFP