Renowned economist Nouriel Roubini, dubbed "Dr. Doom," has warned that a credit crunch will tip the US into recession. In an interview with Fox Business, Roubini said the troubles of smaller US regional lenders face large outflows of deposits as customers with draw their money and take it elsewhere. Such banks are significant lenders to households and small businesses for mortgages, SMEs for commercial real estate, and therefore the likelihood of a credit crunch is great. He added that it would make a recession, a hard landing, much more likely than before, leading to serious problems for a significant portion of the US banking system. Eminent economist, Mohamed El-Erian, has supported Roubini's stance, saying the US economy is facing increasing odds of recession and stagflation after trouble in the global banking system over recent weeks. Investors are reeling over where to park their deposits and with whom to do business. With credit contraction playing out over the next several quarters and reaching its apex towards the end of the year or the beginning of the next year, the economy could bypass a recession as long as there are no policy mistakes.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services. The CPI has been in focus given the elevated inflation levels in the US economy, which impacts consumers in various ways. The latest CPI report by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed a year-over-year inflation rate of 5% for March. The main driver of inflation for March was shelter, accounting for over 70% of the increase, with food, recreation, and household furnishings and operations also contributing. However, the agency noted that grocery prices did not rise, and energy inflation fell by 6.4% year-on-year.

The CPI tracks up to 100,000 goods and services per month, with key categories including housing, food, transportation, and apparel. Consumers should pay attention to the CPI as it impacts their purchasing power and affects their day-to-day expenses. Policymakers also use the CPI as a read into the health of the economy and to guide interest rate decisions. Understanding the CPI and its implications can help consumers make informed decisions about spending and saving.

The gold price has rallied above the psychological $2000 level in Asian trading but surrendered some gains during European hours, trading at $2011.00 at the time of writing. The market participants are questioning the sustainability of this rally as key US data events are yet to come. Federal Reserve policymakers have been providing mixed messages, while the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the FOMC minutes remain crucial for the future direction of gold. The US inflation print is due later, hot on the heels of robust labor market data indicating that a rise in inflation or a significant miss of the forecast print of 5.2% could result in a fresh push to the downside for gold. Alternatively, a sign that inflation continues to soften may serve as a catalyst for a retest of the 2022 high around the $2070.00 region. From a technical perspective, gold has seen a break and continuation of the pennant pattern as it approaches recent swing highs around the $2033.00 level, indicating that a big move may be in store for the precious metal.

The people of Bangladesh are facing steep inflation as the country's headline inflation increased to 9.33% in March due to rising food and non-food prices. Food inflation rose to 9.09% while non-food inflation reached 9.72%. The rise in the prices of meat, fish, vegetables, and spices were primarily blamed for the high food inflation, while education, healthcare, house rent, and transportation were cited as non-food inflation drivers. Planning Minister MA Mannan stated that inflation has yet to reach double digits but warned that it could go up in the coming months. The cost of living is particularly challenging as the majority of the country's people fast during Ramadan. The South Asian Network on Economic Modeling reported that nearly 74% of the poorer families in Bangladesh are depending on borrowing to cope with the rising inflation, while 90.2% of poorer people have been forced to change their regular food habits and compromise on protein diets.

China's blue-chip CSI300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.1%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong and the China Enterprises Index rose by 0.8% each. The consumer price growth in March was at its slowest since September 2021, indicating weak demand for consumption, and potential for further policy stimulus. The producer deflation, which extended price declines for a sixth straight month, further added disinflationary pressure. Analysts say that this indicates the world's second-largest economy is going through a disinflation process. Pinpoint Asset Management's president, Zhiwei Zhang, says that economic recovery is on track but not sufficient enough to push up prices. Policy support from Beijing can strengthen the economy, as suggested by analysts at Nomura. Zyuan Ventures' founder, Gary Rieschel, adds that China will likely see a certain amount of volatility in the market, given that officials still need to manage deleveraging and speculation, which are some of the biggest risks.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported a decline in inflation from 8.6% in February to 7.6% in March, the lowest it has been since October 2022. This is a significant drop, with food contributing heavily to the decrease. This is relieving as everyday households have been affected the most by inflation. However, not all food prices have decreased, with rice prices set to rise by P5/kg this year according to the Department of Agriculture. The contribution of transportation inflation also went down, marking the first time since February 2021 that it went negative. This could be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Utility prices like electricity saw a decrease, but rent continued to rise, and water's contribution to inflation increased for the third consecutive month. The inflation rate is still high, but this downward trend could be a sign of relief for Filipinos.