Macro Roundup (Apr 14)

SHANGHAI, Apr 14 (SMM) — This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.

The U.S. dollar fell to three-week lows on Tuesday after data showed inflation making strong gains in March, though the rise was not expected to alter the Federal Reserve’s commitment to keeping interest rates at rock-bottom levels for years to come.

The consumer price index jumped 0.6% last month, the largest gain since August 2012, after rising 0.4% in February, the Labor Department said on Tuesday. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI rose 0.3%. The so-called core CPI nudged up 0.1% in February.

The dollar briefly spiked on the data, before reversing course and dipping to three-week lows. Treasury yields also fell after the data.

U.S. stocks traded mostly higher on Tuesday after a March inflation report turned out not as bad as some traders feared, but the impact of a halt to the rollout of Johnson & Johnson vaccine kept optimism in check.

The S&P 500 added 0.33% to finish at 4,141.59 and locked in a new closing high. The Nasdaq Composite, the relative outperformer, gained just over 1% to 13,996.1 as Apple and PayPal each added more than 2%. Semiconductor maker Nvidia climbed 3%, Tesla rose 8.6%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 68.13 points, 0.2%, to close at 33,677.27 after dropping more than 150 points earlier in the session.

Reopening trades came under pressure Tuesday morning after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it’s recommending a pause in the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine after reported cases of blood clotting.

There have been six reported cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot after receiving the J&J vaccine, the FDA said. The administration is calling for a pause in the vaccine until Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concludes its investigation into these cases.

Oil prices rose about 1% on Tuesday on strong Chinese import data, but the rally was capped by concerns that pauses on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could delay economic recovery and limit oil demand growth.

Brent crude oil futures were up 64 cents, or 1%, at $63.91 a barrel, while U.S. crude oil futures settled up 48 cents to $60.18 per barrel.

China’s exports grew at a robust pace in March in yet another boost to the nation’s economic recovery, as global demand picked up amid progress in COVID-19 vaccinations. Import growth surged to the highest in four years.

Crude oil imports into China jumped 21% in March from a low base a year earlier as refiners ramped up operations.

Gold prices bounced off a more than one-week low on Tuesday after data showing a sharp rise in U.S. inflation bolstered bullion’s appeal as an inflation hedge and weighed on the dollar.

Spot gold climbed 0.8% to $1,745.94 per ounce, after earlier dipping to $1,722.67, its lowest mark since April 5. U.S. gold futures settled up 0.9% at $1,747.6.

U.K. GDP grew 0.4% in February from the previous month according to official data published Tuesday, slightly missing economist expectations of a 0.6% expansion. Manufacturing output rose by 1.3%, outstripping expectations for a 0.5% monthly gain, while services output grew 0.2%, missing projections for 0.6% growth.

April’s ZEW economic sentiment index for Germany showed investor morale falling unexpectedly in Europe’s largest economy, amid rising fears of a return to harsher lockdown measures. The survey fell to 70.7 points from 76.6 in March.