Macro Roundup (Jul 20)

SHANGHAI, Jul 20 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last weekend and what is expected today.

The US dollar was broadly lower last Friday as the euro climbed to close to a four-month high, with negotiations underway between EU leaders on a recovery fund that could lift the bloc out of recession.

LME and SHFE base metals traded lower for the most part on last Friday night. LME nickel lost 2.13%, zinc fell 1.47%, lead slipped 1.41%, tin fell 0.43% and aluminium dropped 0.33%. Copper, meanwhile, gained 0.42% and hovered at the highest level in two years, supported by raw material supply woes. 

SHFE nickel shed 1.6%, zinc dropped 1.57%, lead fell 1.44%, tin went down 0.35%, while copper advanced 0.16% and aluminium added 1.17%. 

Crude oil prices slipped on Friday on the backdrop of growing uncertainty about the global recovery in fuel demand as coronavirus cases surged in several countries, while major producers were set to ease output curbs.

On the data front, the eurozone consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.3% on a yearly basis, matching the flash estimate, according to Eurostat’s final reading of the eurozone CPI report. Meanwhile, the core figures also matched market expectations and came in at 0.8% year on year during the reported month.
On a monthly basis, the bloc’s headline CPI increased 0.3% in June and the core CPI numbers also matched preliminary estimates, indicating a rise of 0.3%.

Construction of US homes increased 17.3% in June as some states reopened, but the pace remained 4% lower year on year after this spring’s massive slowdown in building activity due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that new homes were started at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,186,000 in June after a modest recovery in May followed steep declines in April and March. 

The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index unexpectedly fell in the first half of July, pointing to a potentially slower economic recovery from the pandemic or even a longer recession. 
The early reading of the consumer-sentiment survey in July fell to 73.2 from 78.1 last month, the University of Michigan said Friday. 

Baker Hughes reported on Friday that the number of oil and gas rigs in the US fell again this week, by 5, to 253. That marked the nineteenth straight loss in the number of active rigs, even as some analysts were predicting a rise in the number of active drilling rigs.
The total oil and gas rigs is now sitting at 701 fewer than this time last year.

Japan’s trade balance for June is slated for release on Monday.