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

Last night

The US dollar recovered from earlier losses to hold near a one-month high against a basket its rivals on Tuesday, as the spread of a pneumonia-like virus in China sparked a sudden bout of risk aversion and rattled world markets.

SHFE base metals traded lower across the board in overnight trading, continuing the weak performance seen in the previous session after a Chinese health expert confirmed on Monday night that the SARS-like virus that has spread across China and reached other nations is contagious between humans.

Nickel dropped 1.1% to lead the losses across SHFE base metals overnight, lead shed 0.7%, tin lost 0.5%, copper and aluminium declined close to 0.3%, and zinc dipped 0.1%. Tracking losses in the Shanghai market, base metals on the LME, except for aluminium and zinc, closed lower on Tuesday. Nickel tumbled 2.5%, copper dropped 1.9%, tin slid 1.4%, and lead shed close to 0.2%.

The outbreak of the virus has left at least six people dead and sickened more than 300 as hundreds of millions of Chinese prepare to travel for the Lunar New Year holiday.

On the trade front, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, US President Donald Trump said negotiations with China over a phase-two trade deal will start soon. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday told The Wall Street Journal that a phase two trade deal between China and the US may not remove all existing tariffs. “We may do 2A and some of the tariffs come off. We can do this sequentially along the way,” he said.

On Tuesday, the Bank of Japan kept its short-term interest rate target at minus 0.1% and its pledge to guide 10-year government bond yields around zero. In its outlook for economic activity and prices, the Japanese central bank said the country’s economy is “likely to continue on an expanding trend” through fiscal 2021.

A survey from Germany’s ZEW research institute Tuesday showed that the mood among German investors brightened far more than expected in January on hopes Germany’s economy might not be hurt as much by trade tensions as previously thought. German ZEW Economic Sentiment rose sharply to 26.7 in January, up from 10.7, beating expectation of 15.2. That’s also the highest reading since July 2015.

Day ahead

US housing prices and home sales data are slated for release today.