Macro Roundup (Feb 10)

SHANGHAI, Feb 10 (SMM) — This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.

The dollar fell to two-week lows on Tuesday in choppy trading, led by losses against the yen and euro, as risk sentiment improved in the afternoon session amid stock market gains and as U.S. Treasury yields rose.

On Wall Street, stocks snapped a six-day winning streak, with the S&P 500 dropping 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost about 10 points.

The Nasdaq Composite was the relative outperformer, gaining 0.15% as Facebook, Microsoft and Netflix all closed higher.

Oil hit 13-month highs on Tuesday with the Brent benchmark staying above $60 a barrel, supported by supply cuts, a weak dollar and optimism over a recovery in fuel demand.

Brent crude futures for April settled 53 cents, or 0.88%, higher at $61.09 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) settled 39 cents, or 0.67%, higher at $58.36 per barrel. Both contracts had hit their highest since January 2020 earlier on Tuesday after having risen for six straight sessions.

Top exporter Saudi Arabia is curbing supply in February and March, on top of cuts by producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, prompting forecasts of a supply deficit this year.

Also, Libya’s output has fallen to 1.04 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1.3 million bpd late last year due to an ongoing strike by Petroleum Facilities Guards, a Libyan oil source said on Monday.

Gold jumped 1% to a one-week high on Tuesday, as a sliding dollar and hopes of more U.S. fiscal stimulus bolstered its appeal among investors seeking an inflation hedge.

Spot gold was up 0.3% to $1,835.24 per ounce, after hitting its highest since Feb. 2 at $1,848.40 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures settled up 0.2% to $1,837.50.

In Europe, the coronavirus pandemic and vaccine rollout continue to dominate headlines and market sentiment. Health experts and government officials were rallying round the AstraZeneca-University of Oxford vaccine on Monday after widespread concern following a small-scale trial that showed it offered “minimal protection” against mild disease caused by the South African variant of the virus.

With its vaccination drive falling far behind, the EU has finalized a deal with Pfizer and BioNTech for the supply of an additional 300 million doses of their Covid vaccine, a European Commission spokesman said on Monday.

Investors are also monitoring process on a Covid-19 stimulus package. House Democrats on Monday unveiled the details of a relief proposal that included $1,400 direct checks with faster phase-outs than previous bills.

Key economic data slated for release today include Chinese, German and US consumer price index (CPI) for January, and crude inventory data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).