Macro Roundup (May 23)

SHANGHAI, May 23 —This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.

The U.S. dollar headed for its worst week since early February against major peers on Friday, weighed down by a retreat in Treasury yields and fatigue after the currency’s breathless 10%, 14-week surge.

The dollar index, which measures it against six major rivals, was down 1.5% for the week to 102.96, on track to snap a six-week winning run. A week earlier it had soared to the highest since January 2003 at 105.01.

Even with global stocks continuing to slide amid risks to growth from aggressive monetary tightening, led by the Federal Reserve, and China’s strict lockdowns to quash a Covid-19 outbreak, the dollar’s appeal as a haven was eclipsed by a decline in U.S. yields as investors rushed for the safety of Treasury bonds.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield sank overnight to a more than three-week low of 2.772%, from a 3 1/2-year high of over 3.2% earlier this month.

Stock futures rose in overnight trading Sunday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for its 8th straight week amid a broader market sell-off.

Futures on the Dow industrial average gained 224 points, or 0.72%. S&P 500 futures added 0.9% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1.11%.

The moves came after the S&P 500 on Friday dipped into bear market territory on an intraday basis. While the benchmark was down 20% at one point, it did not close in a bear market after a late-day comeback.

In Friday’s regular trading session, the S&P 500 closed 0.01% higher at 3,901.36 after falling as much as 2.3% earlier in the session. The Dow added 8.77 points at 31,261.90 after sinking as much as 600 points and the Nasdaq inched 0.3% lower.

Oil prices edged up on Friday as a planned European Union ban on Russian oil and easing of COVID-19 lockdowns in China countered concerns that slowing economic growth will hurt demand.

Brent futures for July delivery settled 0.46% higher at $112.55 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June settled 0.9% higher at $113.23 per barrel.

For the week, WTI was on track for its fourth consecutive weekly gain for the first time since mid-February, while Brent was up about 1% after falling about 1% last week.

Gold rose slightly Friday and prices were still set for their first weekly gain since mid-April as the dollar retreated from highs.

Spot gold rose 0.17% to $1,844.82 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures rose 0.12% to $1,843.5. Meanwhile, the dollar receded from two-decade highs amid mounting concerns over U.S. economic growth revived safe-haven demand.

Gold prices have climbed about 1.9% this week.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 added 0.5% by the close, with travel and leisure stocks climbing 2% to lead gains as almost all sectors and major bourses finished in positive territory.

European stocks still logged a negative week, down 1.3%, having closed sharply lower on Thursday as concerns about inflation and ominous earnings reports from U.S. retailers dented global sentiment.

Markets in Asia-Pacific advanced on Friday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index leading gains, as China kept its one-year benchmark lending rate unchanged at 3.7% but cut its five-year loan prime rate by 15 basis points.