HONG KONG/SINGAPORE: Asian stocks edged up on Friday as Chinese consumer price data soothed fears over inflationary pressures building in the world's No.2 economy, but the mood was cautious after Western central banks failed to offer any fresh stimulus plans to revive their sputtering economies.
The dollar eased against a basket of currencies and U.S. Treasuries slipped as markets reacted coolly to a $447 billion jobs package plan from U.S. President Barack Obama, who faces a fierce battle to win over Republicans which could revive fears of political paralysis inWashington.
Global markets have been dominated in recent weeks by fears of a U.S. relapse into recession and Europe's snowballing debt crisis. Citigroup analyst Jonathan Stubbs said in a note on Friday that "recession appears to be a more likely outcome now in Europe and/or the U.S. than 3-6 months ago".
Worries about the darkening outlook for the developed world prompted Asian central banks including South Korea and Indonesia to hold interest rates steady on Thursday, following similar moves by Australia,Canada, Japan and Sweden this week.
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