Macro Roundup (Jan 29)

SHANGHAI, Jan 29 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.

Last night

Most LME base metals traded lower on Monday. Aluminium fell 1.9%, copper dropped 1.5%, lead slid 1.3%, nickel slipped 0.9% and zinc dipped 0.2%.

SHFE base metals saw similar performance overnight. Aluminium declined 1%, copper lost 0.5%, nickel sank 0.4%, lead shed 0.3% while zinc inched up close to 0.1% and tin edged up 0.07%.

The US dollar changed little against a basket of currencies on Monday as traders were cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting and trade talks between China and the US.

The US Department of Justice filed charges on Monday to officially request the extradition of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.

The Justice Department also announced charges Monday against Huawei for allegedly stealing trade secrets from T-Mobile and committing bank fraud by violating sanctions against doing business with Iran.

Profits of China's major industrial firms maintained steady growth last year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday.

Combined profits at industrial firms with the annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan (about $2.96 million) each reached 6.63514 trillion yuan last year, up 10.3% year on year.

The 2018 industrial profit growth is lower than the 21% expansion for 2017, but still remained on a steady growth track, according to NBS statistician He Ping.

Profits fell 1.9% year on year last December, down further from a drop of 1.8% in November.

Day ahead

Today, the US Conference Board will release its consumer confidence index for January.