SHANGHAI, Nov 15 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected in the day ahead.

Last night

The US dollar fell against the Japanese yen as investors rushed into safe-haven assets on reports the United States and China were struggling to finalise a “phase one” trade deal and as the impeachment inquiry into US President Donald Trump intensified.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, dipped 0.15% and ended at 98.17.

LME base metals and the SHFE complex, except for tin, closed lower overnight. LME copper shed 0.49%, aluminium fell 1.05%, zinc lost 1.81%, nickel dropped 1.82%, lead slid 0.71%, while tin rose 1.94%. 

SHFE copper eased 0.57%, aluminium dipped 0.11%, zinc went down 0.05%, nickel plunged 2.26%, lead lost 0.44%, while tin climbed 0.66%. 

China's factory output growth slowed significantly more than expected in October as weakness in global and domestic demand and the drawn-out China-US trade war weighed on broad segments of the world's second-largest economy.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Thursday that industrial production rose 4.7% year-on-year in October, below the median forecast of 5.4% growth and slower than September's 5.8%.

Indicators showed other sectors also slowed significantly and missed forecasts with retail sales growth back near a 16-year trough and fixed asset investment growth the weakest on record.

China's retail sales of consumer goods rose 8.1% year on year in January-October, the NBS said Thursday.

Total retail sales amounted to 33.48 trillion yuan ($4.8 trillion). Excluding sales of automobiles, the growth rate reached 9% during this period.

Retail sales in rural areas rose 9%, outpacing the 7.9% expansion in urban areas.

Online sales continued to see robust expansion with a year-on-year rise of 16.4%, NBS data showed.

The United States producer price index (PPI) for final demand increased 0.4% in October, seasonally adjusted, the US Department of Labor said on Thursday.

Final demand prices fell 0.3% in September and edged up 0.1% in August. On an unadjusted basis, the final demand index advanced 1.1% on a yearly basis in October, the smallest rise since a 1.1% increase in the 12 months ended October 2016.

The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits rose to a five-month high last week, but this likely does not signal a shift in labour market conditions as claims for several states were estimated because of US Veterans Day holiday on Monday.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 225,000 for the week ended November 9, the highest reading since June 22, the Labour Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior week was unrevised.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims would climb to 215,000 in the latest week. 

Day ahead

The US will publish data on its retail sales, import price index, and industrial output for October, and the eurozone will release its trade balance data for September and consumer price index data for October.