Hello. Today we look at how coronavirus fears are rising again after the discovery of a new variant, the state of China’s economy and concerns about the outlook for trade.
B.1.1.529
Inflation, central bank tapering, supply chain snarls, a looming fiscal cliff — they all dropped a notch on the global economy’s list of concerns Friday as the Coronavirus shot back to the top.
A new variant called B.1.1.529 has been identified in South Africa and has already spread as far as Hong Kong, where it infected two travelers in hotel quarantine. See here for more details.
Stocks, Treasury yields and oil sank while the yen jumped — all hallmarks of investors bracing for uncertain economic times.
“What was expected to be another quiet day for markets, as U.S. activity is muted, is now likely to be rife with anxiety over the new variant and its implications for economic activity going forward,” Siobhan Redford, a Johannesburg-based analyst at FirstRand Bank, told clients in a report.
For South Africa’s economy, the news is a particular body blow especially for its already shaky tourism sector, which would have been eager to welcome foreigners chasing winter sun. The European Union, U.K. and Singapore have already curbed travel.
More broadly, there will be fears the new strain could fuel outbreaks in more countries, stretching health systems, potentially evading vaccines and complicating efforts to reopen economies and borders. The concern alone could dampen the confidence of consumers and companies, which had been showing signs of picking up.
Money markets are offloading bets on central bank interest-rate hikes in a hurry, as inflation fears give way to concerns that the variant may spread globally.
If contained, the new as-yet unnamed strain may prove to be just a scare for markets. The coming days and decisions from the World Health Organization will be closely watched for any broader spread.
At a minimum, however, it’s yet another reminder that Covid-19 is going to remain the wild card for the global economy and will continue to shape the recovery and what policy makers do next.
“Each new variant entails the risk of the vaccination progress being undone,” said Ulrich Leuchtmann, head of currency strategy at Commerzbank. “The thoughts of a world post-Covid suddenly become all confused.”
China’s economy slowly expanding for 6th straight month
Source: Bloomberg Economics
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China’s economy continued to slow in November with car and homes sales dropping again as the housing market crisis dragged on.
That’s the outlook from Bloomberg’s aggregate index of eight early indicators for this month. While the overall number stayed unchanged, under the surface there was a further deterioration in some of the real-time economic data.
Today’s Must Reads
Thanksgiving binge | E-commerce spending by U.S. consumers on Thanksgiving Day will probably climb to a record, even though sales may not be as strong as initially expected.
Supply chain worries | There’s limited evidence from U.S. companies that any major shift in inflation expectations is yet underway despite what economists and President Joe Biden are saying.
Spending surge | Australian retailers recorded their best month of sales in nearly a year as consumers splashed out on everything from dining out to clothing, taking advantage of the easing of lockdowns.
European stimulus | The future of European Central Bank stimulus is becoming clearer before December’s crunch meeting, with its pandemic bond-buying tool on track to be wound down but stay available
Japan stimulus | Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivered his first extra budget, funding Japan’s biggest-ever fiscal package, as he tries to secure an economic recovery before next year’s elections.
El Salvador crypto | Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said the country’s decision to adopt Bitcoin as its currency was concerning because consumers probably will be caught out by its volatility.
“Faintly in the distance: the contours of a big export slump are becoming visible.”
That’s the ominous warning from HSBC’s co-head of Asian economic research Frederic Neumann in a research note. He notes that export volumes have contracted in recent months and new export orders are declining. And that’s set to continue as the shift away from goods demand towards services will knock down shipments from Asia.
“After powering through the pandemic, a trade hangover now looms,” he says.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
