By Michael S. Derby

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Demand for new credit in the U.S. over the last year has declined and will likely stay soft in the future, according to a survey released on Monday by the New York Federal Reserve.

There was a "notable" decline in credit over the last year, with application rates at 41.2%, compared to 44.8% in 2022 and the pre-pandemic 2019 level of 45.8%, the regional Fed bank's quarterly Survey of Consumer Expectations Credit Access survey showed.

But even as the overall application rate for new credit declined among those surveyed, interest in applying for more credit card debt rose. The survey said that reading had hit 29% as of October and was 26% for 2023, compared to a 27.2% credit card application rate in 2019.

Over the next year, the proportion of people in the survey who plan to apply for more credit ebbed to 25.1% in October and 25.9% for the year as a whole. Last year, the proportion of those who planned to apply for new credit stood at 26.7%.

The report noted that expected decline in applications for credit extended to new credit cards, auto loans, mortgages and home refinancing. Respondents also see "significantly higher" prospects of future credit applications being turned down.

Earlier this month, a New York Fed report on total household debt levels during the third quarter found a 4.7% rise in overall credit card debt to $1.08 trillion, which it attributed to the strong economy and robust consumer spending.

Credit costs have increased markedly for borrowers on the back of aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes aimed at slowing the economy to bring high inflation back to the U.S. central bank's 2% target. Those rate increases have hit the housing sector particularly hard and brought activity there down to low levels.

The economy, however, has continued to perform robustly and the prospect that activity will remain positive despite the Fed's monetary policy tightening has risen.

By Rae Wee

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The dollar slid to a two-month low on Monday, extending a downtrend from last week as traders reaffirmed their belief that U.S. rates have peaked and turned their attention to when the Federal Reserve could begin cutting rates.

The yuan struck three-month highs in both the onshore and offshore markets, propped up by China's central bank, which gave the Australian and New Zealand dollars a leg up, as the two are often used as liquid proxies for the yuan.

The dollar index in Asia trade bottomed out at 103.53, its weakest level since Sept. 1, extending its nearly 2% decline from last week - the sharpest weekly fall since July.

Against the weaker greenback, the euro hit its highest since August at $1.09365, while the yen firmed at a one-month high of 148.68 per dollar.

Markets have priced out the risk of further rate increases from the Fed after a slew of weaker-than-expected U.S. economic indicators last week, particularly after an inflation reading that came in below estimates.

Focus now turns to how soon the first rate cuts could come, with futures pricing in a 30% chance that the Fed could begin lowering rates as early as March, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

"Market pricing for FOMC policy is likely to remain pretty steady, so the dollar should have very few catalysts to move it around this week," said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC:CMWAY) (CBA). "If we do see risk appetite improve again, then the dollar can definitely weaken further."

Sterling edged 0.14% higher to $1.2480, flirting near a two-month peak, while the euro last bought $1.09185 ahead of flash PMI readings in the euro zone due this week.

Also due this week are minutes from the Fed's latest meeting, which will offer some colour on policymakers' thinking as they held rates steady for a second time this month.

"(The) FOMC minutes may be framed as a 'Fed pivot', thereby underscoring risk-on rallies favouring softer U.S. Treasury yields and U.S. dollar, alongside buying in risk assets," said Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank. "The upshot is that the FOMC minutes may overstate incremental dovish shifts and likelihood of the Fed's intended pivot signals."

The Japanese yen remained on the stronger side of 150 per dollar and was last 0.3% higher at 149.17.

Elsewhere in Asia, the yuan leapt to a more than three-month high against the dollar in both the onshore and offshore markets, as the central bank guided the unit higher and exporters rushed to convert their dollar receipts into local currency.

The onshore yuan rose 0.5% to an over three-month high of 7.1700 per dollar, while the offshore yuan similarly got a boost and jumped roughly 0.6% to an over three-month top of 7.1703 per dollar.

The Aussie was last 0.5% higher at $0.6546, having struck a three-month high of $0.6563 earlier in the session, while the kiwi gained 0.54% to $0.6025.

China on Monday left its benchmark lending rates unchanged at a monthly fixing, matching expectations, as a weaker yuan continued to limit further monetary easing and policymakers waited to see the effects of previous stimulus on credit demand.

The yuan, which has fallen nearly 4% against the dollar this year in the onshore market, continues to be pressured by a faltering economic recovery in China and as investor sentiment remains fragile.

"I think the theme of a soft Chinese economic recovery will persist for a while," said CBA's Kong.

"Until we get a more meaningful recovery in the Chinese economy, I think that will be a headwind for the (yuan), Aussie and the kiwi in the near term."

By Tetsushi Kajimoto and Kentaro Sugiyama

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's big employers are set to follow this year's bumper pay hikes with another round in 2024, which are expected to help lift household spending and give the central bank the conditions it needs to finally roll back massive monetary stimulus.

Early indications from businesses, unions and economists suggest the labour and cost pressures that set the stage for this year's pay hikes - the largest in more than three decades - will persist heading into next year's key spring wage talks.

The head of major beverage maker Suntory Holdings Ltd, for example, plans to offer employees average monthly pay hikes of 7% in 2024 for the second straight year, to retain talent in a tight labour market and offset rising inflation.

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company intends to raise annual pay by 7% on average for about 10,000 employees from next April, while electronics retailer Bic Camera is set to raise 4,600 full-timers' pay by up to 16%.

"What's going on is a big paradigm shift away from deflation and towards inflation," Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami, who also sits on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's top economic advisory council, told Reuters.

"Given the fast-changing landscape, I believe those who move fast (with wage hikes) should become competitive."

Those announcements come as Kishida heaps pressure on companies to hike pay to offset the pain on households from rising living costs.

The back-to-back annual pay bumps would also provide Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda with one of the pre-conditions he needs to dismantle the extreme monetary stimulus of the past decade: sustainable wage growth.

"A combination of the chronic labour crunch and stubborn inflation will lead next year's wage negotiations to result in the same or even higher pay from this year," said Hisashi Yamada, labour expert and professor of Hosei University.

OECD data shows average wages have barely risen in Japan for about past 30 years as chronic deflation and prospects of prolonged low growth discouraged firms from raising pay.

The tide began to shift after supply constraints caused by the pandemic and the Ukraine war led to sharp rises in raw material prices, forcing firms to pass on higher costs to consumers.

With inflation having held above the BOJ's 2% target for more than a year, companies have faced unprecedented pressure to compensate employees with pay hikes to retain and lure talent.

A demand made this year by Rengo, Japan's largest trade union confederation, for pay hikes of "around 5%" resulted in average wage hikes of 3.58% among major companies. Rengo has said it will demand a pay hike of "5% or higher" next year.

Another major union UA Zensen, which covers service-sector workers and part-timers, said it would demand a pay 6% rise next year, in line with this year's demand.

Six out of 10 economists in a Reuters poll expect major firms' pay hikes in 2024 to exceed this year's.

"A combination of inflation, tight labour market and corporate profits will blow a tailwind to keep up the momentum for wage hikes," said Atsushi Takeda, chief economist at Itochu Economic Research Institute. "More and more companies are also able to pass on higher costs in supply chain."

UNEVEN HIKES

While lifting wages has been an elusive goal for Japanese policymakers for decades, recent cost-of-living pressures have added urgency to the task.

With his approval ratings plunging, Kishida has pledged to achieve another year of robust pay hikes and avoid the economic stagnation Japan saw in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The prime minister last week called on the business community to beat this year's wage growth in 2024.

Kishida has offered subsidies and tax incentives for firms that carry out bold pay hikes and plans to allow loss-making SMEs who don't pay taxes to benefit from tax breaks later on. The premier also aims to give SMEs more bargaining power in negotiations with bigger clients.

Another year of solid wage growth would also help the BOJ pursue an end to its controversial monetary stimulus. Markets are betting the central bank could end negative interest rates by around April, when it gets more clarity on wages.

The BOJ's quarterly tankan business survey in December and wage talks between Japan's largest business lobby and Rengo in January may offer even earlier clues.

The key, however, would be whether wage hikes broaden to smaller firms and those in the regional areas.

A report by the BOJ's regional branch managers in October warned wage hikes remained uneven among sectors with many firms undecided on next year's pay increments.

In Saitama prefecture, north of Tokyo, Nitto-Seimitsu Kogyo Co., a small manufacturer of auto-part tools that has 113 employees, is raising wages by around 2% every year, but won't be able to pay more.

"I want to raise wages more for our employees to help our workers cope with high inflation but 2% is our limit," said factory boss Keita Kondo.

(This story has been corrected to remove the erroneous reference to pay hikes being given to 7000 employees in 2024, in paragraph 3)

SEOUL - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a stark warning that South Korea could face a sustained period of low economic growth unless it undertakes significant structural reforms. The IMF's cautionary stance highlights several critical challenges, including the repercussions of COVID-19, demographic shifts, and high inflation rates, which threaten the nation's economic stability.

South Korea is grappling with one of the world's lowest fertility rates at 0.78 and an old-age dependency ratio projected to reach 80%. These demographic challenges are compounded by an elderly poverty rate within OECD nations that stands at a substantial 40.4%. To address these issues, the IMF underscores the necessity for labor market adjustments to improve economic prospects.

The nation's pension system is also under scrutiny, with predictions indicating that public debt could surge to twice the national GDP by 2075 without reform. In response, the IMF suggests increasing mandatory national pension contributions, which currently sit at nine percent, significantly below the OECD average of eighteen percent. Aligning with international standards is deemed crucial for the fiscal sustainability of Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

Economic policy decisions in South Korea are further complicated by consumer price inflation rates peaking at around 6.3%. This inflationary pressure has stifled government efforts to stimulate growth through economic stimulus measures initially planned for later this year. Instead, the IMF recommends pursuing structural changes over liquidity injections as a means to foster economic expansion while keeping inflation rates in check.

Sung Tae-yoon from Yonsei University supports this strategy, which aims to avoid exacerbating already high inflation ahead of upcoming general elections. Among the proposed reforms are measures to address labor market inflexibility and the gender employment gap, which could enhance labor productivity and elevate Korea's projected economic growth. The country's current sluggish pace of around 1.4% this year is anticipated to reach an average of up to 2.3% through 2028 if these reforms are enacted.

With these warnings and suggestions in mind, South Korea faces a crucial juncture where timely and effective policy decisions could determine its economic trajectory for decades to come.

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

Investing.com-- The People’s Bank of China kept its benchmark loan prime rate unchanged near record lows on Monday, as it continued to skirt the balance between fostering an economic recovery and preventing more weakness in the yuan. 

The PBOC kept its one-year LPR at 3.45%, while the five-year LPR, which is used to determine mortgage rates, was left unchanged at 4.20%. Both rates were at historic lows, after three cuts over the past year.

The LPR is determined by the PBOC based on considerations from 18 designated commercial banks, and is used as a benchmark for interest rates in the country.

The central bank was widely expected to keep the LPR unchanged, given that it had made no changes to medium-term lending rates last week. But the PBOC injected about 92 billion yuan into the economy on Monday. 

The PBOC had also injected about 600 billion yuan of liquidity into the economy last week, following a swathe of weak data prints for October.

China’s economy continued to struggle through October as exports dropped, manufacturing activity slowed and the country once again slipped into disinflation. 

The PBOC has maintained its pace of liquidity injections to help foster economic growth. But investors have now called for more cuts to the LPR, given that the liquidity injections have provided limited support to the economy. 

Lower lending rates are also expected to help support the beleaguered property sector, which is facing a severe downturn in demand, while several major players are also grappling with potential debt defaults. The property market make up a quarter of China's economy, and has faced increased headwinds over the past three years.

But the PBOC has remained largely averse to further trimming rates, given Beijing’s growing discomfort with recent weakness in the Chinese yuan. The currency had recently sunk to an over one-year low, facing growing pressure from high U.S. interest rates. 

By Andreas Rinke

BERLIN (Reuters) -France, Germany and Italy have reached an agreement on how artificial intelligence should be regulated, according to a joint paper seen by Reuters, which is expected to accelerate negotiations at the European level.

The three governments support "mandatory self-regulation through codes of conduct" for so-called foundation models of AI, which are designed to produce a broad range of outputs. But they oppose "un-tested norms."

"Together we underline that the AI Act regulates the application of AI and not the technology as such," the joint paper said. "The inherent risks lie in the application of AI systems rather than in the technology itself."

The European Commission, the European Parliament and the EU Council are negotiating how the bloc should position itself on this topic.

The paper explains that developers of foundation models would have to define model cards, which are used to provide information about a machine learning model.

"The model cards shall include the relevant information to understand the functioning of the model, its capabilities and its limits and will be based on best practices within the developers community," the paper said.

"An AI governance body could help to develop guidelines and could check the application of model cards," the joint paper said.

Initially, no sanctions should be imposed, the paper said.

If violations of the code of conduct are identified after a certain period of time, however, a system of sanctions could be set up.

Germany's Economy Ministry, which is in charge of the topic together with the Ministry of Digital Affairs, said laws and state control should not regulate AI itself, but rather its application.

Digital Affairs Minister Volker Wissing told Reuters he was very pleased an agreement had been reached with France and Germany to limit only the use of AI.

"We need to regulate the applications and not the technology if we want to play in the top AI league worldwide," Wissing said.

State Secretary for Economic Affairs Franziska Brantner told Reuters it was crucial to harness the opportunities and limit the risks.

"We have developed a proposal that can ensure a balance between both objectives in a technological and legal terrain that has not yet been defined," Brantner said.

As governments around the world seek to capture the economic benefits of AI, Britain in November hosted its first AI safety summit.

The German government is hosting a digital summit in Jena, in the state of Thuringia, on Monday and Tuesday that will bring together representatives from politics, business and science.

Issues surrounding AI will also be on the agenda when the German and Italian governments hold talks in Berlin on Wednesday.

(Reuters) - U.S. retailers are gearing up for Black Friday, marking the start of the shopping season that follows the Thanksgiving holiday, while business activity data should gauge the temperature elsewhere.

Britain's budget update is in the spotlight, while the yen might get some breathing space and Argentina heads for a key election.

Here's your week ahead in world markets from Lewis Krauskopf in New York, Kevin Buckland in Tokyo, and Naomi Rovnick, Dhara Ranasinghe and Karin Strohecker in London.

    1/ BARGAIN HUNTING

    The crucial holiday shopping season kicks off with Black Friday on Nov. 24 at a time when investors are questioning whether the consumer-driven U.S. economy can remain resilient.

    This year's Black Friday comes as Americans grapple with soaring interest rates and inflation that, while easing, remains above the Federal Reserve's 2% target.

    Already, data for October showed U.S. retail sales fell, pointing to slowing demand, although the decline was less than expected.

    There's also likely to be plenty of interest in chip company Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), which releases its latest earnings report on Nov. 21. It is the last of the results in the earnings season from the Magnificent 7 megacap companies, whose massive share gains this year have led equity indexes higher.        

2/ SOFT VS HARD

Soft or hard landing? For sure, compelling arguments can be made for both. The European Commission expects the euro zone will avoid technical recession; Britain just sidestepped the start of one.

The forward-looking flash November PMIs due out globally should help investors assess recession risks and how quickly rate cuts will begin.

The euro zone PMI is already below the 50 number, suggesting economic activity is contracting. It is the same in Britain, while the U.S. Oct manufacturing PMI contracted sharply.

Bond heavyweight PIMCO sees the probability of a U.S. recession within one year at 50%. Market pricing for rate cuts suggests traders reckon economic growth will slow fast enough for the Fed and European Central Bank to switch to easing mode. And of course soft landing hopes could vanish fast if inflation eases more quickly and unemployment rises fast.

3/ 11 DOWNING STREET

UK politics has been dramatic, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak having fired his interior minister, moved former leader David Cameron back into government and reshuffled other top roles.

Finance minister Jeremy Hunt will now change gear with his Nov. 22 Autumn Statement, focusing on boosting growth ahead of an expected 2024 election.

Analysts predict the government, hamstrung by a stagnant economy and high debt, won't make big investment pledges.

Still, Hunt looks set to trim taxes for voters and businesses, offering some relief to the many Conservative lawmakers alarmed at the opposition Labour Party's big opinion poll lead. He could also downgrade near-term borrowing expectations, temporarily boosting gilts.

Natwest says the UK may issue 10% more debt in 2024-2025 than in this fiscal year - a development that would amplify long-term concerns about gilt market oversupply.

4/ DEATH, TAXES, WEAK YEN    

    There's an air of inevitability about a weaker yen, even with the Bank of Japan increasingly hinting at an end to ultra-loose policy and greater investor certainty that the Fed is done tightening.

    After pulling back from the brink of 152 per dollar at the start of the week, receiving a lifeline from cooling U.S. inflation data, the yen was back to the weaker side of 151 a day later. It's déjà vu for traders, who saw support from weak U.S. payrolls numbers on Nov. 3 last only as long as the weekend.

   While gaping Japan-U.S. rate differentials do not bode well for the yen, the shift in policy directions should at least give forward-thinking markets some pause.

   As long as that's not the case, pressure is on the Kishida cabinet since a weak yen is unpopular politically. And that means Tokyo is never too far from the intervention trigger.

5/ PHOTO FINISH?

Argentines elect a new president on Sunday in a closely fought race pitching center-left Peronist economy chief Sergio Massa against libertarian outsider Javier Milei and polls suggest a likely photo finish.

They offer two wildly different visions for South America's No. 2 economy: Milei's potentially painful shock therapy for the embattled country that has run out of FX reserves, inflation running at over 140% and faces recession. Pragmatist Massa pledges a unity government and more gradual change to solve the crisis that has worsened on his watch.

Investors are bracing for rocky times, with Argentina's crucial $44 billion IMF programme on the ropes and international bonds priced at deeply distressed levels.

And there's more election-induced volatility ahead in emerging markets with Egypt, Taiwan, South Africa and India just some facing key ballots in coming months.    

By Rae Wee and Tom Westbrook

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The dollar was headed for its largest weekly drop for months against the euro, yen and franc on Friday, as investors sold in anticipation of almost 100 basis points of U.S. interest rate cuts next year.

At $1.0854 to the euro, the dollar has shed 1.6% for the week, its steepest fall since mid-July. It is also down 1.6% for the week to 0.8882 Swiss francs and has even lost 0.6% to trade at 150.53 on the out-of-favour yen.

Oil hit four-month lows on Thursday and Walmart (NYSE:WMT) said it will cut prices, adding to the disinflationary pressures that data this week showed had steadied U.S. consumer prices and convinced investors inflation is in retreat and rate increases are over.

Thursday's batch of weak U.S. economic data also reinforced that stance. Futures markets have priced in 98 basis points of Fed rate cuts next year, compared with 73 bps a week ago.

"While the amount of easing factored in appears aggressive, the direction of travel looks right," said Peter Dragicevich, strategist at cross-border payments firm Corpay in a note.

"The U.S. inflation pulse has turned, and the negative consequences of past policy tightening is starting to manifest," he said.

"As the next Fed easing cycle comes into view, U.S. yields move lower, and U.S. growth comes back to the pack, we are looking for the USD to gradually deflate over the next few quarters."

Sterling is up 1.5% for the week at $1.2410. The Australian and New Zealand dollars lost a bit of shine on Thursday, when signs of a slowing U.S. economy knocked commodity prices but they remain set for weekly gains.

Moves in Asia trade on Friday were small, leaving the Aussie at $0.6466, up 1.7% on the week, and the kiwi at $0.5960, up 1.2% on the week.

China's yuan was eyeing its best week in two months and traded near a three-month high at 7.2447 per dollar.

"As soon as markets become confident a Fed rates peak is in ... prevailing dollar strength will be seen to be on borrowed time," strategists at National Australia Bank (OTC:NABZY) said in a note.

Several European Central Bank speakers appear later on Friday, British retail sales data is due along with U.S. housing starts. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin is set to snap a four-week winning streak with a modest 1.8% fall to $36,416.

By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian shares took a breather on Friday as a batch of softer U.S. economic data took some of the steam out of Wall Street, but also boosted bonds in a big way while slugging oil prices in a boon for the inflation outlook.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.4% from a two-month high, but still up 3.1% so far for the week in its best performance since July.

Both Brent and U.S. crude slid almost 5% on Thursday to four-month lows in a move that was blamed on economic and supply concerns, though technical selling likely played a part when the $80 bulwark broke. [O/R]

Dealers suspected algorithmic and trend-following funds drove the speculative sell off with much of the losses coming in just a single hour of trade.

Brent was last down 10 cents at $77.36 a barrel, and a world away from the $97.69 top hit in late September, while U.S. crude eased 7 cents to $72.83.

Whatever the cause, the rout should put added downward pressure on consumer prices across the globe and reinforce expectations of policy easing next year.

Adding to the disinflationary theme was commentary from Walmart (NYSE:WMT) executives that costs were "more in check" and they were planning on cutting prices for the holiday season.

Equity investors were not as impressed with the idea of margin compression and knocked Walmart shares down 8%, while a drop in energy stocks dragged on the S&P 500.

Early Friday, S&P 500 futures were all but flat, as were Nasdaq futures. EUROSTOXX 50 futures gained 0.3% and FTSE futures 0.2%.

Japan's Nikkei added 0.2%, to be 2.8% firmer for the week, helped by reassurance from the Bank of Japan that it was sticking with its super loose policy.

Chinese blue chips were a fraction lower, having missed on the general rally so far this week.

Sentiment in Asia was supported by the apparent easing of tensions between the United States and China, with the Chinese press lauding the meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was also set to hold talk with Xi at the APEC summit.

COUNTING ON CUTS

Bond markets were still cheering this week's benign U.S. inflation report, with futures now pricing in almost zero chance of another rate hike from the Federal Reserve and a 34% probability it might ease as early as March.

The market is pricing in 98 basis points of cuts next year, compared with 73 basis points a week ago.

"With labor market activity slowing and further disinflation expected, we see the Fed on hold before starting to lower rates in the second half of 2024 to avoid a recession," wrote analysts at JPMorgan in a note.

"We forecast the policy rate to drop 100 basis points in 2H24 to end the year at 4.5%, before settling on hold at 3.5% by 1Q25."

Treasury investors were looking to price in a little of that right now with yields on two-year treasuries down a whopping 21 basis points for the week at 4.85%. That was their best weekly performance since March.

Ten-year note yields stood at 4.44%, having fallen 18 basis points for the week so far, a rousing rally from the 5.02% high hit just a month ago.

The sea change in market pricing for the Fed has left the dollar looking soggy, with the euro up at $1.0853 and holding gains of 1.6% for the week so far. [FRX/]

The dollar even lost ground to the yen, easing to 150.67 yen and away from a 151.92 peak hit early in the week. It fared better against commodity-linked currencies such as the Canadian dollar, which were hampered by the slide in oil.

The drop in bond yields proved bullish for gold, which nudged up to $1,982 an ounce. [GOL/]

PARIS (Reuters) - France's government aims to rein in spending on business subsidies and medical care as part of plans to come up with 12 billion euros in savings from 2025, government sources said on Thursday.

President Emmanuel Macron's government needs to bring down France's public spending - the highest in the world relative to the size of the economy - to keep its deficit reduction commitments on track.

The 2024 budget bill currently going through parliament includes plans for 16 billion euros ($17.35 billion) in savings, most of it from phasing out temporary power and gas price caps.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told ministers on Thursday they needed to identify an additional 12 billion euros in savings from 2025 as part of a regular spending review process, government sources said.

Various public funds that support businesses and spending on medical care were singled out with other targets to be defined in further meetings, they added.

Public financial support of the corporate sector currently costs 110 billion euros annually though a range of cash handouts and tax breaks.

"We're expecting proposals to cut or reduce aid that is considered to be the least efficient or positive or the most redundant," one of the sources said.

The government also wants to rein in fast-growing health spending by taking a hard look at the some 80,000 medical products that are currently partly subsidised at cost of 16 billion euros a year, a second source said.

France has committed to its EU partners to cut its public sector budget deficit from 4.9% of economic output this year to an EU limit of 3% in 2027, which its own public audit office says lacks ambition.

($1 = 0.9223 euros)