Weekly News Summary for May 22-28, 2020

Friday, May 22, 2020: China Scraps GDP 2020 Target for the First Time

China on Friday chose not to set a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth target for this year, as the country addresses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The announcement, which marks as the first time China has not established a GDP target since 1990 when records started, sent US crude futures down by 6% to $31.89 per barrel, while copper futures dropped 2.2% to $2.38 per pound and nickel futures lost 1.7%.

Monday, May 25, 2020: Hong Kong Residents Protest Against Security Law

Thousands of residents of Hong Kong took to the streets of the region to protest about the proposed new security law that they see as a threat to the foundations of the city’s freedom and rights.

The incident took place a day after the US Commerce Department included another 33 Chinese companies to a blacklist, restricting US firms from conducting business with them due to alleged human rights violations in the mainly Muslim western province of Xinjiang.

Tuesday, May 26, 2020: British Pound Rises on Possible Lockdown Easing

The British pound edged higher on Tuesday, as the possibility of the government canceling lockdown measures rose, amid the political outrage over an apparent breach of the pandemic lockdown rules committed by Dominic Cummings, the chief political advisor of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The sterling gained 1.1% against the US dollar and 0.5% versus the euro and also received support on news of the European Union (EU) easing its stance in the ongoing discussions over post-Brexit trading ties.

Wednesday, May 27, 2020: Yuan Hits 9-month Low on Renewed US-China Tensions

The Chinese yuan posted a nine-month low against the US dollar on Wednesday, dropping to 7.1773 in the offshore market, as tensions between the US and China concerning the proposed security measure for Hong Kong grew.

The House of Representatives is set to vote later on a bill that would sanction Chinese officials for human rights violations in the Xinjiang province, which would add more US pressure on China without raising economic pressure right away on a heating tariff war.

Thursday, May 28, 2020: US Jobless Claims Expected to Rise Over 2 Million

The US Labor Department is due to unveil its weekly jobless claims report later Thursday, with economists expecting numbers to rise more than 2 million, due to job cuts, budget struggles of local governments, and more second-wave layoffs in the private sector.

The data is being monitored to determine the economy’s recovery rate after businesses closed in mid-March to contain the spread of COVID-19 and nearly stopped the US from functioning.