Macro Roundup (Jun 22)

SHANGHAI, Jun 22 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last weekend and what is expected in the day ahead.

The US dollar rose for the fourth consecutive day last Friday and posted its best weekly gain in a month, as fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections boosted demand for safe-haven assets.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.2% at 97.622, notching a four-day winning streak.

Last week, the market focused on an uptick in coronavirus cases in a number of US states, as well as new infections detected in Beijing.

LME base metals closed mixed last Friday. Copper recorded the fifth consecutive week of increase, rising 0.14% on Friday. Zinc climbed 1.15%, tin edged up 0.06%, while aluminium shed 0.88%, nickel slipped 1.28%, and lead fell 0.75%.

SHFE nonferrous metals mostly increased last Friday night, with zinc leading the gains with a rise of 0.71%. Copper added 0.4%, lead grew 0.38%, tin went up 0.33%, while nickel lost 0.88% and aluminium eased 0.15%.

The UK retail sales started to recover in May from a record fall in April amid the coronavirus lockdown. The headline retail sales rose by 12% in May after falling by 18% in April, the Office for National Statistics said Friday

Non-food stores provided the largest contribution to growth, up 24.3%, and with a rise of 42% in household goods stores. The proportion spent online reached the highest proportion on record in May 2020 at 33.4%, compared to 30.8% reported in April 2020.

The core retail sales, which exclude volatile food and energy prices rose by 10.2% in May after dropping by 15% in the previous month.

Eurozone current account surplus fell to €14.4 billion in April from €27.4 billion in March, the European Central Bank showed Friday. This was the lowest level since April 2017, when the surplus was €11.7 billion.

The US current-account deficit, a measure of the nation's debt to other countries, slipped 0.1% in the first quarter. 

The US current-account deficit fell to $104.2 billion from a revised $104.3 billion in the Q4 2019. The small decline reflected a lower trade deficit in goods.

Key economic data slated for release today include the US existing home sales for May, the eurozone consumer confidence index for June. China is also set to announce the June fixing of its benchmark lending rate today.