Macro Roundup (Apr 17)

SHANGHAI, Apr 17 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected in the day ahead.

The US dollar rose to a one-week high on Thursday as investors continued to search for safe haven following gloomy US jobless data.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, added 0.28% and ended at 99.9. 

US Treasury yields fell for a third straight session on Thursday, weighed by more data showing how the coronavirus outbreak has hit the world's largest economy. 

The 10-year and 30-year yields fell to two-week lows, while those on two-year notes slid to a new three-year trough. The yield curve also continued to flatten.

President Donald Trump unveiled guidelines on Thursday for reopening the US economy, saying states should take a phased approach to let employees return to work as conditions allow. The guidelines are aimed at easing restrictions in areas with low transmission of the coronavirus, while holding the line in harder-hit locations.

LME base metals closed mixed on Thursday, as copper advanced 0.1%, aluminium edged up 0.07%, zinc climbed 0.26%, while nickel fell 0.08%, lead eased 0.44%, and tin slipped 0.4%.

SHFE nonferrous metals also traded on a mixed note, with nickel losing 1.9% to be the worst performer. Tin shed 0.5% and copper edged down less than 0.1%. Lead inched up 0.04%, zinc gained 0.6%, while aluminium extended its rally and advanced 1.5% on the day.

The US Labour Department said a total of 5.245 million Americans filed for state unemployment benefits for the week ended April 11, compared with the Dow Jones estimate of 5 million. The number declined from 6.6 million in the prior week. 

That brought the crisis total to just over 22 million, nearly wiping out all the job gains since the Great Recession.

Meanwhile, US housing starts for March came in at 1.216 million, the Commerce Department said on Thursday, compared to the expected 1.3 million. March’s data is the worst monthly decline since March 1984, when there was a decline of 26.42%.

US building permits dropped by 6.8% to 1.35 million lath month, down from February’s revised level of 1.45 million. The data was slightly better than expected as economists were forecasting a reading around 1.30 million permits. Building permits are up 5% compared to last year.

Destatis revealed a 0.1% growth in the German preliminary consumer price index (CPI) in March. The figure was recorded at a much higher 0.4% in February. Economists had expected the index to show no growth in March.

The European Central Bank has a target of near but lower than 2% annual inflation. On a year over year basis, the German consumer prices saw a 1.3% increase in March as compared to February’s 1.7% growth. Economists had anticipated a 1.4% year over year growth in the German inflation measure.

Key economic data slated for release today include China’s Q1 gross domestic product (GDP), its retail sales of social consumer goods, the added value of industrial output for March, and eurozone’s CPI for March.