SHANGHAI, Jun 29 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last weekend and what is expected today.
The US dollar strengthened last Friday and once rose to the highest in almost four days, as investors caution intensified amid concerns about a resurgence in US coronavirus cases.
At least 11 US states have taken measures to pause its reopening plans after a spike in the number of new cases of COVID-19 across the country.
The national number of daily COVID-19 case reports reached a new high of nearly 40,000 on Friday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, and 32 states are seeing the number of new cases grow from the prior week.
LME base metals traded on a mixed note last Friday. Copper expanded 0.1% on concerns about supply disruption from the world’s top copper producer Chile. Chile’s Codelco has closed its Chuquicamata smelter and refinery to prevent a further spread of COVID-19 among its staff.
LME aluminium climbed 1.69%, nickel added 1.56%, tin grew 1.45%, while zinc slipped 0.73% and lead eased 0.08%.
On the data front, the US consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, grew 8.2% in May, the Commerce Department said on Friday.
That was the largest increase since the government started tracking the series in 1959. The reopening of many businesses after being shuttered in mid-March bolstered consumers spending in May. Consumer spending slumped by a historic 12.6% in April.
Inflation remained weak in May, with food prices moderating and the cost of energy goods and services falling for a fifth straight month. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding the volatile food and energy components edged up 0.1% after falling 0.4% in April.
On a yearly basis, the so-called core PCE price index rose 1%, matching April's gain.
In a separate survey on Friday, the University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index fell to a reading of 78.1, compared to the expected 79.2 and 78.9 in the middle of June.
Though sentiment improved from May, consumers in the regions with record rises in coronavirus cases were less upbeat relative to Northeast residents, and this could weigh on the overall mood in the months ahead.
Key economic data slated for release on Monday include the eurozone business sentiment indicator and consumer confidence index for June, Germany’s consumer price index (CPI) for June as well as the US existing home sales for May.
