SHANGHAI, Jan 22 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.

Last night

The greenback continued its bullish momentum to start the week, as the US dollar index overnight climbed to the highest since January 4 at 96.43.

The pound gained against the euro and US dollar after the UK Prime Minister Theresa May unveiled her plan to break the Brexit deadlock. 

The Prime Minister spoke of "constructive" meetings with MPs but took aim at Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for refusing to engage in Brexit talks unless the government ruled out a no-deal scenario. Mrs May said leaving the EU without a deal can't be ruled out, explaining: "We need to be honest with the British people, the right way to rule out a no deal is for this house to approve a deal with the EU. This is what this government is trying to achieve." 

Base metals closed mixed as LME lead jumped 0.51%, tin nudged up, nickel went flat, while copper and aluminium lost over 1%, and zinc edged down. SHFE nickel grew 0.64%, tin increased 0.46%, lead went up slightly, while aluminium fell 0.59%, copper slid 0.5%, and zinc declined 0.26%. 

China said on Monday that its economy expanded 6.6% in 2018, meeting expectations but slower than 6.8% in 2017.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), gross domestic product (GDP) was about 90.03 trillion yuan last year, up 6.6% from a year earlier, exceeding the government's growth target of 6.5%.

The NBS said that the economy grew reasonably and maintained overall stability. For the fourth quarter of 2018, GDP growth came in at 6.4%, in line with expectations.

Value-added industrial output in China increased 5.7% in December from a year ago, accelerating from a 5.4% year-over-year rise in November.

Fixed-asset investment in China's urban areas rose 5.9% in 2018 from a year earlier. Growth in the closely watched indicator of construction activity was in line with the 5.9% increase recorded in the January-November period, but missed economists' forecast for a 6% gain.

Retail sales of consumer goods climbed 8.2% in December from a year earlier, up from a gain of 8.1% in November.

Last year, total investment in real estate development stood at 12.03 trillion yuan, up 9.5% year on year. The total floor space of commercial buildings sold was 1.72 billion square meters, up 1.3% year over year, of that of residential buildings sold grew by 2.2%. The total sales of commercial buildings reached nearly 15 trillion yuan, up 12.2% year over year, including a 14.7% growth in sales of residential buildings, according to NBS. 

Day ahead

Economic data slated for release today include January’s ZEW economic sentiment for the eurozone and Germany, as well as US existing home sales in the US for December.