SHANGHAI, Mar 28 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.
Last night
The US dollar rebounded overnight as concerns of a trade war eased. Month-end capital flows and a weakening euro also buoyed the index.
Most base metals climbed up but with limited gains due to the rebound in the greenback. SHFE copper inched up, while zinc dipped. LME nickel and aluminium edged down slightly. Inventories of LME copper grew to the highest level since December 2013, at 383,975 mt, and limited its gains in prices.
The eurozone’s economic sentiment index fell for three consecutive months and stood at 112.6 in March, below the expected 113.3. This was due to weaker sentiment across manufacturing, services and retail. The industrial sentiment index came in at 6.4, compared to 8.0 a month ago.
As expected, the eurozone’s final consumer confidence index stood at 0.1 in March, unchanged from February.
The US Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell to 127.7 in March from a revised 130 in February, below the expected 131, as business conditions weakened. The measure of current conditions fell to 159.9 from 161.2 in February, and the consumer expectations gauge declined to 106.2 from 109.2 in February.
Director of economic indicators at the conference board, Lynn Franco said: "Despite the modest retreat in confidence, index levels remain historically high and suggest further strong growth in the months ahead."
Inventories of US crude oil during the week ended March 23 rose by 5.32 million barrels, according to data from the American Petroleum Institute. Gasoline inventories shrank by 5.80 million barrels and refined oil inventories fell by 2.24 million barrels.
Day ahead
Data from the US, such as personal consumption expenditures for the fourth quarter of 2017, gross domestic product, wholesale inventories and pending home sales index for February, and weekly crude oil inventories, are some key factors to watch today.
The US dollar inched up but still hovered at low levels overnight. The trend is likely to continue today.
Base metals are expected to trade rangebound with limited momentum in the short term.
For editorial queries, please contact Daisy Tseng at daisy@smm.cn
For more information on how to access our research reports, please email service.en@smm.cn