Macro Roundup (Jun 10)

SHANGHAI, Jun 10 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected in the day ahead.

The US dollar continued to trade lower against all of the European currencies on Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement. 

Investors are awaiting clarity on the state of the economy and further stimulus from the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on Wednesday.

The pound, meanwhile, has risen 3.1% against the dollar this month, as several countries emerge from coronavirus lockdowns, depressing demand for the safe-haven US currency.

LME base metals declined for the most part on Tuesday, as nickel led the losses with a drop of 1.22%. Aluminium fell 0.12%, zinc slipped 1.13%, lead dipped 0.11%, while copper added 0.87% and tin grew 1.11%. 

SHFE nonferrous metals mostly extended their increases last night as copper advanced 1.17%, aluminium climbed 0.59%, lead increased 0.49%, tin rose 0.07%, while zinc lost 0.63% and nickel shed 0.73%.

On the data front, German trade surplus narrowed further to €3.2 billion in April, as compared with €10 billion expected and €12.8 billion in March, according to the latest data released by Destatis on Tuesday.

Seasonally adjusted April imports fell by 16.5%, compared with expectations of -16.0% and the previous -5.1%, the office said. Meanwhile, exports plunged by 24% in April, following a drop of 11.8% in March. The March figure was the steepest drop since current records began in 1990, as the coronavirus crisis reduced demand for goods from Europe’s biggest economy.

The eurozone’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 3.6% in the Q1 of 2020, the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) estimated on Tuesday.

The drop was slightly less than the -3.8% initially announced, though it was the largest decline in GDP since the creation of the single currency in 1999.

Wholesale inventories in the US rose by slightly less than expected in the month of April, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday. 

The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories increased 0.3% in April after falling by a revised 1.1% in March. April’s reading is compared with an estimated rise of 0.4%. The rebound in wholesale inventories came as inventories of non-durable goods surged up by 1.1% in April after slipping by 3.4% in March. 

The number of job openings and of voluntary separations in the US fell in April, as the coronavirus pandemic rolled across the country and job insecurity soared.

According to the Department of Labor, the number of job openings fell from 6.01 million in March to 5.05 million and that of voluntary separations from 2.79 million to 1.79 million.

Total job separations fell sharply in April, from 14.6 million in March to 9.9 million as some parts of the economy began to reopen and workers were called back to their jobs. 

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated on Tuesday shocked the oil markets with a large crude build of 8.42 million barrels for the week ended June 5. Analysts had predicted a small inventory draw of 1.738 million barrels.

Key economic data slated for release today include China’s consumer price index (CPI) for May, its social financing and M2 money supply for May, and the US CPI for May and its weekly crude oil change surveyed by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).