SHANGHAI, Mar 14 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.
Last night
Following the departure of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson from the White House, the US dollar index touched a five-day low of 89.58 and then hovered around 89.6, while most base metals climbed up. SHFE aluminium and tin edged down slightly. LME zinc led with a rise of over 2%, nickel gained over 1%, while tin slid slightly. LME aluminium inched up as investors expected China to continue production cuts.
In line with expectations, US’ consumer prices remained firm in February, indicating that inflation is moving towards the Federal Reserve's target of 2%. Both the main consumer price index (CPI) and the core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2% on a monthly basis.
Inventories of US crude oil during the week ended March 9 rose by 1.16 million barrels, less than the expected 1.5 million barrels, according to data from the American Petroleum Institute (API). Gasoline inventories shrank by 1.26 million barrels and refined oil inventories fell 4.26 million barrels.
Day ahead
Key factors to watch today include China’s economic data, the US retail sales data, the producer price index (PPI) and the Energy Information Administration's (EIA) data on crude oil inventories.
The US dollar slumped to 89.6 overnight due to staff changes at the White House. It likely to remain rangebound with downward room.
Affected by a weaker US dollar, base metals inched up and are expected to remain rangebound in the short term.
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