Macro Roundup (Oct 11)

SHANGHAI, Oct 11 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected in the day ahead.

Last night

The US dollar dropped to a more than two-week low on Thursday against its rivals on optimism over the ongoing US-China trade talks.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that talks between the two countries are going “really well,” after he tweeted earlier in the day he would meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at the White House on Friday.

The British pound spiked versus the greenback as Johnson and his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar said in a joint statement that they both now see a “pathway to a possible deal.”

Prospects of a progress in trade talks between Washington and Beijing, together with OPEC’s pledge to take action to balance the market for next year, buoyed oil prices.

LME base metals closed higher on Thursday. Zinc led the gains with a 2.4% increase. Copper climbed 1.6%, nickel rose 1.5%, lead advanced 0.6%, aluminium gained 0.4%, and tin was up 0.3%.

SHFE base metals also drifted mostly higher overnight. Zinc rose 1.1%, copper crept up 0.9%, nickeled gained 0.6%, and lead advanced 0.3%, while aluminium edged down 0.1% and tin lost close to 0.2%.

On the data front, US consumer price index was unchanged in September after a 0.1% rise in August, according to the Labour Department.

Last month’s flat reading was the weakest reading since January and came as increases in the cost of food and rents were offset by decreases in the prices of energy and used cars and trucks.

On a year-over-year basis, the CPI increased 1.7% after advancing by the same margin in August.

A separate report from the US Labour Department showed that Initial claims for state unemployment benefits unexpectedly dropped 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 210,000 for the week ended October 5.

In Germany, seasonally adjusted exports fell 1.8% in August, while imports rose 0.5%. The trade surplus narrowed to 18.1 billion euros after an upwardly revised 20.5 billion euros in the prior month.

Day ahead

Economic data slated for release today include German September CPI, as well as US September import prices, the University of Michigan’s October consumer sentiment index and weekly oil rig count.