Macro Roundup (Dec 12)

SHANGHAI, Dec 12 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.

Last night

Both LME and SHFE base metals ended in mixed territory overnight. LME lead climbed over 1%, copper and zinc gained some 0.8%, tin rose over 0.6% while nickel sank 0.4% and aluminium fell 0.6%.

SHFE zinc increased some 0.6%, copper grew some 0.5%, tin went up 0.4% and lead gained over 1% while nickel and aluminium dipped 0.2% and 0.3% respectively.

The dollar hit a month-peak against a basket of currencies on Tuesday, as China and the US discussed plans for talks to avert a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.

White House officials and China’s commerce ministry said that Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer spoke on a telephone call on Tuesday, but offered no details what they discussed.

The pound fell to 20-month lows following reports that colleagues of Prime Minister Theresa May said they had enough numbers to mount a no-confidence vote in her leadership, stoking anxiety about a chaotic British exit from the European Union.

Chinese banks extended 1.25 trillion yuan ($182 billion) in new yuan loans in November, up from 697 billion yuan in October, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement on its website.

Broad M2 money supply, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, grew 8% in November from a year earlier, matching forecasts and in line with the previous month, PBOC data showed.

Newly-added social financing, a measurement of funds that individuals and non-financial firms get from the financial system, was 1.52 trillion yuan in November, up from 728.8 billion yuan in October.

US producer prices unexpectedly rose in November as increases in the costs for services offset a sharp decline for energy products, but the overall momentum in wholesale inflation appears to be slowing.

The Labor Department said on Tuesday its producer price index (PPI) for final demand edged up 0.1% last month after jumping 0.6% in October.

On a yearly basis, the PPI rose 2.5%, slowing from October's 2.9% surge. Economists had forecast the PPI to be unchanged in November and rise 2.5% year on year.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a decline in crude oil inventory of 10.18 million barrels for the week ended December 7, compared to analyst expectations of a draw in crude oil inventories of 2.94 million barrels. In the previous week, the API reported a build of 5.36 million barrels. The API also reported a drop in gasoline inventories for week ended December 7, about 2.48 million barrels. Analysts had predicted an increase of 2.55 million barrels for the week.

German investor confidence rose strongly in December, defying expectations for a modest weakening, but caution prevailed as financial analysts' assessment of the current economic situation again deteriorated sharply due to sluggish economic growth and uncertainties linked to global trade and Brexit.

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany rose 6.6 points to reach minus 17.5 points in December, results of a survey by the Centre for European Economic Research, or ZEW, showed on Tuesday.

Economists had forecast the index, which reflects analysts' economic expectations for the next 6 months, to worsen further to minus 25.

Day ahead

The US Department of Labor will publish its consumer price index (CPI) report for November today and the Energy Information Administration (EIA) will report crude supply data for the week ended December 7.