Weekly News Summary for January 10-16, 2020

Friday, January 10, 2020: US Jobs Growth Eases in December

The US jobs sector left 2019 in a weakened state, as December’s payroll and wage data disappoints, the Labor Department revealed on Friday.

Non-farm payrolls in the world’s largest economy rose by just 145,000, and wage growth only improved by 2.9%, while the unemployment rate remained at a 50-year low of 3.5% last month.

Monday, January 13, 2020: Chinese Yuan Climbs ahead of Trade Deal Signing

The Chinese yuan posted its highest in over five months against the US dollar on Monday, as the outlook of the world’s largest economy improved, ahead of the signing of the Phase 1 trade deal on Wednesday.

The yuan climbed past the 6.9 per dollar level, to reach a new 5-1/2 month high of 6.89 per dollar, while the British pound stumbled after the UK’s GDP growth dropped by 0.3% in November, missing expectations for a flat reading, and supporting hopes for a rate cut from the Bank of England.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020: China’s Trade Return to Growth in December

China’s foreign trade returned to growth in December as companies tried to beat the deadline for higher US import tariffs.

Citing figures from the General Administration of Customs, China’s dollar-denominated exports climbed by 7.6% last month, while imports rose as high as 16.3%, although the improvement signaled a downturn for the country’s industrial activity, after successive increases of US duties.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020: Germany GDP Grows to its Slowest in Six Years

Germany’s export-sensitive economy grew to its slowest in six years in 2019, as preliminary figures from the Federal Statistics Office, showed GDP expanded by just 0.6% last year from 1.5% in 2018, underlining the impact of the US-China trade war and Brexit on the country.

Germany’s government said the industrial sector has not yet recovered from its period of weakness, but signaled an improvement in manufacturing orders and output in 2019, as well as a solid performance in construction.

Thursday, January 16, 2020: Oil Prices Rebound after Petroleum Stocks Rose 14M

Oil prices rebounded from a five-week low hit earlier on Thursday, after official data showed total petroleum supply surged by 14 million barrels for a second week in a row.

US crude oil WTI futures were last up by 0.8% to $58.27 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent oil futures gained 0.7% to $64.50 a barrel.