Macro Roundup (Sep 8)

SHANGHAI, Sep 8 (SMM) — This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.

The dollar steadied in holiday-thinned trade on Monday after US jobs data showed job growth slowed further in August, while traders shifted their focus to the European Central Bank’s meeting on Thursday.

The US Labor Department report on Friday showed that US employment growth slowed and permanent job losses increased as government funding started running out, raising doubts on the sustainability of the economy’s recovery. Still, the jobless rate fell to 8.4% from 10.2% in July.

In the immediate aftermath, the greenback rallied to its highest in a week at 93.242 against a basket of six major currencies on safe-haven buying, but later retraced its gains as US stock indexes recovered.

Oil prices dropped more than 1% on Monday after earlier hitting their lowest since July as Saudi Arabia made the deepest monthly price cuts for supply to Asia in five months while optimism about demand recovery cooled amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Labor Day holiday on Monday marks the traditional end of the peak summer demand season in the United States and that renewed investors’ focus on the current lackluster fuel demand in the world’s biggest oil user.

China, the world’s biggest oil importer which has been supporting prices with record purchases, slowed their intake in August, according to customs data on Monday.

German manufacturers ramped up production for the third straight month, though the pace of growth slowed considerably in July. Industrial output rose 1.2%, less than forecast by economists. The increase was led by carmakers while machinery retreated. Investment-goods production still increased 2.1%.

China’s dollar-denominated exports beat expectations in August to climb 9.5% from a year ago, while imports declined 2.1% in the same period.

Investor confidence in the Eurozone improved more-than-expected in September, the latest data published by the Sentix research group showed on Monday. The gauge rises to -8.0 in September from -13.4 in August vs. a reading of -10.5 expected.

Investors will likely continue to monitor geopolitical developments.

China’s Foreign Ministry on Monday accused Washington of “blatant hegemony” after the US Department of Defense said recently it was considering adding Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation to the Commerce Department’s so-called entity list. Meanwhile, tensions are also escalating between the UK and European Union, putting at risk chances of a post-Brexit trade deal in the coming months.

Germany on Sunday warned that a lack of Russian cooperation with its investigation into the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny could force Europe’s largest economy to rethink its Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project between the two countries.

Shanghai base metals rose for the most part in overnight trading. Copper added 0.46%, aluminium advanced 0.52%, zinc edged up 0.05%, lead climbed 0.32% and tin rose 0.89%, while nickel underperformed with a 0.23% loss.

Their counterparts on the LME closed mixed on Monday. Copper inched up 0.18%, aluminium strengthened 0.31% and tin rose 0.52%, while lead weakened 0.28%, nickel fell 0.85% and zinc traded flat.

German and French trade data for July and second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) on a seasonal-adjusted basis in eurozone will be released today.