Macro Roundup (Jan 14)

SHANGHAI, Jan 14 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected in the day ahead.

Last night

The US dollar held steady against a basket its rivals on Monday, while sterling was the weakest performer after tepid growth increased the likelihood that the Bank of England will cut interest rates this month.

Oil prices extended their decline, while copper prices rose to an eight-month peak. LME copper added 1.4% on Monday to be the best performer among base metals. Tin advanced 0.8% and zinc gained 0.3%, while aluminium and lead shed 0.8% and nickel dropped 0.9%.

SHFE base metals performed similarly overnight. Tin rose 1.1%, copper climbed 0.9%, and zinc increased 0.2%, while aluminium sank 0.3%, nickel fell 0.7% and lead slipped 1%.

The US Treasury Department announced Monday that the US has removed China from a list of countries considered currency manipulators. This came just two days before top trade negotiators for Washington and Beijing sign a key “phase one” trade deal.

The UK economy unexpectedly shrank in the month before the general election, with gross domestic product (GDP) contracting by 0.3% in November, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Monday. That was the sharpest decline in seven months. Analysts had predicted that the economy would continue to flat-line in November, following the 0.1% growth seen in the previous two months. Compared to the same month in 2018, the UK economy grew by 0.6% in November, the slowest growth since the spring of 2012, the ONS noted.

Day ahead

China will release its December trade data, while the US will publish its December consumer inflation data and weekly crude inventory data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).