1. FED meeting minutes: Corona virus will ‘weigh heavily’ on the economy

Aug 19, 2020

The Federal Open Market Committee members expressed concern at their latest meeting over the future of the economy, saying that the corona virus would likely continue to stunt growth, and potentially pose dangers to the financial system. Officials at the meeting “agreed that the ongoing public health crisis would weigh heavily on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term, and was posing considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term,” the meeting summary said.

Source: CNBC

2. United States’ Flash Manufacturing PMI

Aug 21, 2020

US business activity snapped back to the highest, since early 2019, this month, as companies in both the manufacturing, and services sectors, saw resurgence in new orders. The United States Flash Manufacturing PMI came in better than anticipated at 53.6, against the expected 51.9, and the previous 50.9. Increasing numbers came, due to an increase in foreign sales at the fastest rate, since September 2014.

Source: Reuters

3. US weekly jobless claims jump back above 1 million

Aug 20, 2020

The number of people filing for unemployment benefits last week was greater than expected, raising concerns about the state of the economy, as lawmakers struggle to move forward on a new pandemic stimulus package. Initial jobless claims in the US, for the week ended August 15, came in at 1.106 million, against the market forecast of 923,000. Initial claims for the previous week were also revised higher by 8,000, to 971,000

Source: CNBC

4. German Flash Manufacturing PMI came in better than expected

Aug 21, 2020

The German manufacturing sector improved further in August, from the last month. The German manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) arrived at 53.0 in August, versus the expected 52.5, and the previous 51.0, and is at a 30-month high. Meanwhile, Services PMI fell to a two-month low level of 50.8, from 55.6, recorded in July.

Source: Bloomberg

5. Copper closed inventory stocks in LME warehouses at a 13-year low

Aug 21, 2020

Copper closed inventory stocks in LME warehouses at a 13-year low of 104,425 tons, and this has stoked worries about supplies on the LME, one of the major reasons why the cash copper contract has mostly traded at a premium over the 3-month contract since early July. It ended at a $13.80 premium on Wednesday.

Source: Reuters

6. US ends 3 bilateral agreements with Hong Kong over a new law

Aug 19, 2020

The State Department announced in a statement that it had notified Hong Kong authorities on Wednesday, of its suspension, or termination of bilateral agreements, concerning extradition, and tax exemptions. The move follows President Donald Trump signing an executive order, mid-July, stating that Hong Kong was no longer "sufficiently autonomous" from mainland China, to warrant special status under U.S. law, after Beijing imposed a draconian and controversial national security law on July 1, over the former British colony.

Source: Reuters

7. OPEC+ Meeting: Non-compliant members still had way to go to compensate for their overproduction

Aug 20, 2020

OPEC+ reassured the markets that it will strictly cut its total oil production by the determined level of 7.7 million barrels per day. OPEC+ sees an overall implementation of its pledged production cuts in July of 95%. OPEC+ is planning to return about 1.5 million barrels a day to the market this month, after trimming roughly 10% of the global supply, following a crash in demand, due to the pandemic.

Source: Market Watch

8. Japanese economy shrinks at a record pace

Aug 17, 2020

Japan was hit by its biggest economic contraction on record in the second quarter, as the coronavirus pandemic crushed consumption and exports, keeping policymakers under pressure for bolder action to prevent a deeper recession. Japan’s real GDP shrank to 485 trillion yen, the lowest since April-June 2011. The Japanese economy shrank at an annualized rate of 27.8% in April-June, against the forecast of a 27.2% decline, which was the biggest drop since 1980.

Source: CNBC