SHANGHAI, Jul 24 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.

The US dollar slumped to its lowest against a basket of rivals in nearly two years on Thursday, while the euro rose to its highest against the greenback since early October 2018 as it was still basking in the glow of the European recovery fund approved earlier this week.

On Wall Street, stocks fell as Microsoft led shares of major tech companies lower and traders reacted to disappointing unemployment data, rising US-China tensions as well as spiking COVID-19 cases.

Oil prices fell 2% on Thursday while nonferrous metals rebounded.

Nonferrous metals on the LME moved higher across the board on Thursday. Nickel soared 4.6% to lead the gains, tin jumped 1.6%, zinc rose 1.5%, aluminium advanced 1.1%, lead rose 0.8% and copper was up 0.5%.

Their counterparts on the SHFE performed similarly in overnight trading. Nickel surged 3.2%, zinc jumped 2.5%, copper climbed 1%, aluminium advanced 0.9%, tin and lead both crept up 0.8%.

The US Labor Department revealed Thursday that weekly initial jobless claims came in at 1.416 million for the week ended July 17, slightly worse than the 1.3 million expected and marking the 18th consecutive week that more than 1 million new unemployment claims have been filed.

In Europe, German consumer confidence has soared on the back of a return to economic activity and landmark stimulus measures in Europe, new data revealed Thursday. The forward-looking GfK Institute consumer confidence reading rose to -0.3 for August compared to -9.4 in July.

China said the US move on Tuesday to close its Houston consulate this week had “severely harmed” relations and warned it “must” retaliate, without further details.

On the coronavirus front, US coronavirus cases topped 4 million on Thursday, with over 2,600 new cases every hour on average, the highest rate in the world.

Senate Republican leaders also continued to work towards a proposal for a new round of aid to buttress the economy.

On Wednesday, sources told CNBC that Republicans were considering extending a $600-per-week unemployment benefit at a reduced rate of $100 per week. On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said an extension in unemployment benefits will be based on “approximately 70% wage replacement.”

Preliminary July manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMIs) out of Europe and the US, and US new home sales for June will be released Friday.