Weekly News For November 30 to December 6, 2018

Friday, Nov 30: China Factory Growth Stalls in November

China’s manufacturing sector saw no growth for the first time in over two years in November, as new orders slowed, intensifying pressure on Beijing to carry out more economic support measures amid an ongoing trade war with the US.

Data released on Friday showed official PMI for China dropped to 50.0, a level considered to be neutral, in November from 50.2 in October, suggesting no expansion in activity or contraction occurred in the sector on a monthly basis.

Monday, Dec 3: Oil Prices Surge 5 percent on US-China Trade Truce

Oil prices rose more than 5 percent on Monday after the 90-day trade truce between the US and China fueled demand for riskier assets, just days before the OPEC meeting which is expected to result in an output cut.

US WTI crude futures climbed as much as 5.7% to a high of $53.84 per barrel before easing to $53.10, while Brent crude oil futures advanced 4 percent to $61.80 per barrel, having gained 5.3% to $62.59 earlier in the session.

Tuesday, Dec 4: Dollar Falls as US Bond Yields Hit 3-month lows

The US dollar dropped to a more than one-week low on Tuesday as US Treasury yields fell further, with the 10-year note hitting an intraday low of 2.93%, its lowest level since September 12.

The US dollar index shed 0.6 percent against a basket of six major peers to $96.38, marking its weakest since November 23.

Wednesday, Dec 5: European Stocks Drop to Two-week Low

European markets experienced losses on Wednesday as investors stayed on the sidelines due to worries over a potential economic slowdown and the US-China trade war.

The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 1.2% at the open, hitting its weakest since November 23, while national indices including the DAX, CAC 40, and the FTSE 100 declined 0.8% or more.

Thursday, Dec 6: Trade War Truce in Doubt after Huawei CFO’s Arrest

The state of the trade war and the 90-day trade truce between the US and China turned uncertain once again after Meng Wanzhou, the CFO and daughter of the founder of telecoms giant Huawei was arrested in Canada on December 1.

Details of Meng’s arrest have not been released but the US has been looking into Huawei concerning a possible violation of sanctions against Iran, according to a person familiar with the matter.