Home / Metal News / Macro Roundup (Feb 9)

Macro Roundup (Feb 9)

iconFeb 9, 2021 09:00
Source:SMM
The dollar was flat to slightly lower on Monday in choppy trading, holding its ground against a basket of major currencies after falling sharply on worse-than-expected U.S. jobs data last week, as investors continued to price in faster U.S. recovery than most countries.

SHANGHAI, Feb 9 (SMM) — This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.

The dollar was flat to slightly lower on Monday in choppy trading, holding its ground against a basket of major currencies after falling sharply on worse-than-expected U.S. jobs data last week, as investors continued to price in faster U.S. recovery than most countries.

The dollar index was at 90.982, flat on the day. On Friday, it fell as low as 90.981 after data showed the U.S. economy created fewer jobs than expected in January and job losses in December were greater than initially reported.

On Wall Street, U.S. stock futures were little changed on Monday evening as Wall Street looked to extend its February hot streak.

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 12 points, or less than 0.1%. Those for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 also hovered near the flat line.

The move in futures comes after the three major indexes set another round of record highs on Monday. The Dow and S&P 500 have now advanced for six straight sessions, while the Nasdaq Composite has finished in the green on five of those six days.

A strong earnings season and improving data on the Covid pandemic and vaccinations are two factors that are helping to push stocks higher, said Victoria Fernandez, Chief Market Strategist at Crossmark Global Investments. She also said that some underlying data in last week’s jobs report, including an increase in hours worked, were encouraging even if the headline numbers showed a tepid recovery. 

Oil prices rose on Monday to their highest in over a year, with Brent nudging past $60 a barrel, boosted by supply cuts among key producers and hopes for further U.S. economic stimulus.

Brent rose 2.06% to settle at $60.56 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate settled 1.97% higher at $57.97 per barrel. Both benchmarks were at the highest since January 2020.

Saudi Arabia pledged extra supply cuts in February and March following reductions by other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies.

Gold jumped more than 1% on Monday as expectations of a large U.S. stimulus package bolstered bullion’s appeal as an inflation hedge.

Spot gold rose 1.2% to $1,831.90 per ounce. U.S. gold futures rose 1.3% to $1,836.10.

U.S. President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies in Congress cleared the path for their $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package as lawmakers approved a budget outline that will allow them to muscle the plan through without Republican support.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday the country would get back to full employment next year if Congress approves the stimulus package.

On Tuesday, investors will get more updates on the state of the economic recovery with the NFIB’s small business survey and the Labor Departments job openings and labor turnover data.

Macroeconomics

For queries, please contact Michael Jiang at michaeljiang@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please email service.en@smm.cn

Related news

SMM Events & Webinars

All