Macro Roundup (Jul 6)

SHANGHAI, Jul 6 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last weekend and what is expected today.

The US dollar was hemmed into a narrow range on Friday, while European stocks closed lower as concern over a spike in US coronavirus infections tempered the optimism arising from upbeat economic data out of the US, China and the eurozone.

US markets were closed on Friday to observe Independence Day. Wall Street posted solid performance in the holiday-shortened week, with the Dow and S&P 500 rising 3.3% and 4%, respectively, and the Nasdaq advancing 4.6%.

The resurgence of the coronavirus globally and in the US, meanwhile, dimmed the prospects of fuel demand recovery, depressing crude prices on Friday.

LME base metals closed mixed on Friday. Copper dropped 1.3%, aluminium fell 0.7% and zinc shed 0.4%, while tin gained 0.2%, nickel advanced 0.4% and lead rose 0.7%. For the week, the six metals, except for zinc, ended in positive territory. Nickel was up nearly 2.5% last week, copper jumped 1.2%, aluminium climbed 0.9%, tin advanced 0.6% and lead edged up 0.06%, while zinc bucked the uptrend with a paltry 0.02% loss.

The nonferrous metals on the SHFE also saw mixed performance in Friday night trading. Lead slipped 0.7%, copper shed 0.6% and zinc lost 0.2%, while aluminium and tin gained 0.4% and nickel strengthened 0.5%.

The US Senate unanimously approved legislation on Thursday to penalize banks doing business with Chinese officials who implement Beijing’s new national security law for Hong Kong, raising the chances of further friction between the world’s two- largest economies.

Data published Friday showed that China’s services sector expanded at the fastest pace in over a decade in June as the easing of coronavirus-related lockdown measures revised consumer demand, though companies continued to shed jobs.

The Caixin/Markit services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 58.4, the highest reading since April 2010, from May’s 55.0, pulling further away from the trough hit in February as the coronavirus lockdown paralyzed the economy. The 50-mark separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis.

Final IHS Markit services and composite PMI readings released Friday, meanwhile, confirmed that the slump in business activity in the eurozone caused by the coronavirus pandemic eased in June as countries began to reopen their economies. The composite reading came in at 48.5 in June, a sharp rise from May’s 31.9.

Baker Hughes Co. reported Thursday that the US rotary rig count decreased by two drilling units last week. It was the ninth straight week of new record lows of rig counts. Based on the latest figure, 263 rigs were operating in the US The number comprises 185 oil rigs, 76 gas rigs and two miscellaneous rigs. The number of oil rigs decreased by three week-on-week and the number of gas rigs increased by one during the period.

The Institute for Supply Management’s index for non-manufacturing activity in the US is due on Monday.

Other economic data slated for release on Monday include eurozone’s retail sales for May and Sentix investor confidence index for July.