SHANGHAI, Jun 19 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last weekend and what is expected today.
Last weekend
As US-Sino trade tension grew, the appetite for risk shrank and suppressed the increase in the US dollar index on Monday. The index closed at 94.742 on Monday.
LME metals saw mixed trading on Monday. LME lead rose 1.27%, aluminium gained 0.72% while nickel dropped 1.25%. Tin slid 0.7%, copper lost 0.53% and zinc dipped. LME copper fell to a two-week low at one point as US-Sino trade tension escalated and concerns grew over demand in China.
The eurozone consumer price index (CPI) came in at 0.5% month on month in May, in line with expectations and higher than the previous 0.3%. On a yearly basis, the CPI figure for May accelerated to 1.9%, matching the expectations and higher than the first readout of 1.2%.
The core figures matched both the forecasts and the first preliminary reading and stood at 1.1% in May.
The eurozone trade surplus for April narrowed to 18.1 billion euros after seasonal adjustments and 16.7 billion euros before adjustment.
US industrial production unexpectedly slipped 0.1% from April in May, and the manufacturing component of industrial production fell 0.7%, the largest month-on-month decline since January 2014.
US consumer sentiment surveyed by the University of Michigan hit 99.3 in a preliminary June reading, higher than the expected 98.5 and the previous 98.
The index for current conditions, which measures American perception of their finances, grew to 117.9 in June, the second-highest reading since 2000 while the expectations index dropped to a five-month low of 87.4 in June.
The number of active US rigs for oil rose for four consecutive weeks, up 1 unit to 863 units over the week ended June 15 while natural gas rigs fell 4 units to 194 units, according to data from Baker Hughes. This lowered the overall active rigs by 3 units, to 1,059 units.
Day ahead
Key factors to watch today include the eurozone’s current account for April, US housing starts and building permits in May.