Key Weekly Data Points – week commencing 08/06/2020

Daniel Casali provides a round-up of key market activity during the week of 8th June.

Monday 8th

• UK pubs and restaurants could be reopening and begin serving customers outdoors by 22nd of June according to ministers. The move would be a huge boost for the struggling hospitality and leisure industry.
• China's trade surplus surged to a record $62.9bn in May. Exports decreased by 3.3% in dollar terms from May last year, whilst imports fell by 16.7%.
• Japan's GDP shrank 2.2% in Q1 this year. This was worse than the -2.1% consensus for forecast, but an improvement on the initial estimate of -3.4%.

Tuesday 9th

• Lockdown measures continued to negatively impact the UK retail industry in May. According to the British Retail Consortium, Total UK sales fell by 5.9% compared with the 2019, as the majority of shops remained closed.

Wednesday 10th

• In the last three months, almost £90 billion has been given out to businesses and workers.
• In China, consumer prices rose by 2.4% and producer prices fell by 3.7%, in May compared to 2019.

Thursday 11th

• British Gas owner, Centrica is expected to cut 5,000 jobs due to the declining fortunes of the company. Lost customers, an energy price cap and falling gas prices have all contributed.
• Federal Reserve officials predicted they would keep interest rates close to zero until at least the end of 2022. It is expected to take years for jobless claims to reach pre-COVID levels.

Friday 12th

• The UK’s economy shrank by 20.4% in April. This is the largest monthly contraction on record and 3 times larger than during the 2008-2009 downturn.
• The British government will no longer introduce full border checks with the EU on 1 January in a positive move for the airline industry.

Source: Bloomberg.com

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