Macro Roundup (Jul 10)

SHANGHAI, Jul 10 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.

The US dollar rallied from a four-week low against a basket of rivals on Thursday, as weaker US stocks enhanced the currency’s safe-haven appeal for investors following a surge in new coronavirus cases.

Stocks on Wall Street traded mixed on Thursday as coronavirus concerns pushed investors further into tech shares. The Nasdaq Composite closed at an all-time high as Amazon jumped 3% to a record. Microsoft, Apple and Netflix were also higher. The Dow dropped more than 300 points, erasing its week-to-date gains, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.6%.

Fears over rising coronavirus cases in the US outweighed signs of a recovery in US gasoline demand on Thursday to keep a lid on oil prices.

Data from the US Energy Information Administration showed US gasoline stockpiles fell by 4.8 million barrels last week, much more than analysts expected, as demand hit its highest level since March 20.

Nonferrous metals traded mixed on Thursday. On the LME, nickel plunged more than 2% and aluminium fell nearly 1%, while lead advanced 0.8%, zinc and tin rose 0.9% and copper climbed 1%.

On the SHFE, the nonferrous complex had a wild session in overnight trading after opening broadly higher. Nickel dropped 1.5% and tin lost 0.3%, while copper inched up 0.2%, aluminium advanced 0.3%, zinc rose 0.7% and lead climbed 0.9%.

Jobs data released by the Labor Department Thursday showed 1.314 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, compared to a Dow Jones estimate of 1.39 million. Continuing claims, or those who have been collecting for at least two weeks, dropped 698,000 from a week ago to 18.06 million.

Still, weekly claims have stayed above 1 million for 15 consecutive weeks as workers struggle to get back to their jobs amid rising coronavirus cases.

China's factory-gate prices fell at a slower-than-expected rate in June, official data showed, as the country works towards recovering from the coronavirus while grappling with a heavy blow to global demand.

The producer price index (PPI) fell 3% from a year ago, according to National Bureau of Statistics data, but remains weak owing to the COVID-19 pandemic fallout. PPI has been at 4-year lows recently, shrinking 3.7% in May.

The PPI pickup comes as prices of international commodities saw some recovery in June, and as the domestic manufacturing industry and market demand improved, said NBS senior statistician Dong Lijuan in a statement.

China's consumer price index (CPI) came in at 2.5%, a 0.1 point rise from May, on the back of a pickup in food prices and in line with forecasts.

The US will release its PPI for June on Friday.

German exports rebounded in May, albeit less than expected, as demand warmed up amid an easing of restrictions to contain the coronavirus.

German exports rose 9.0% in May from April in adjusted terms, statistics office Destatis said Thursday. Economists had forecast a 13.5% increase in exports in adjusted terms, according to a Dow Jones Newswires poll. In April, exports plunged by 24% compared with March amid the pandemic, the steepest monthly decline since the data was first published in 1990.

In May, imports grew 3.5% on the month, after dropping 5.3% in March and 16.6% in April. The figures account for seasonal swings and calendar effects.