Macro Roundup (Mar 4)

SHANGHAI, Mar 4 (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 across the board after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Tuesday in an emergency move designed to shield the economy from the impact of the coronavirus.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, slipped to the lowest level since January 8 at 96.92.
In a statement, the US central bank said it was cutting rates by a half percentage point to a target range of 1.00% to 1.25%.
"The fundamentals of the US economy remain strong. However, the coronavirus poses evolving risks to economic activity. In light of these risks and in support of achieving its maximum employment and price stability goals, the Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower the target range for the federal funds rate," the Fed said a statement.
LME base metals closed mixed on Tuesday, with zinc leading the losses and dipping 1.85%. Lead slipped 0.89%, copper shed 1.1%, while tin added 0.75%, nickel increased 0.04%, and aluminum rose 0.67%. 
Eurozone consumer price index (CPI) fell to 1.2% in February, official data showed Tuesday, as the European Central Bank said it was preparing to respond to the economic impact of the coronavirus. 
The drop from 1.4% in January means the rate is even further from the ECB's target of just under 2%, though it was in line with the forecasts of analysts surveyed by financial services provider Factset.
Eurozone unemployment rate was unchanged on the month at 7.4% in January. 

Day ahead

Key economic data slated for release today include China’s Caixin service purchasing managers' index (PMI) for February, eurozone and Germany’s retail sales for January, US ADP non-farm payrolls and its ISM non-manufacturing PMI for February, as well as the US the weekly crude oil change surveyed by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API).