US stocks continued to trade higher today amid the resumed optimism that interest rates are near their peak and financial risks might be abating. US initial jobless claims increased to 198,000 in the week ending March 25th, the first increase in three weeks; still, the level remains near historic lows. Ahead of the much-awaited inflation gauge release tomorrow, some of the European economies’ inflation readings pointed to a mixed picture of pricing pressures in the bloc. Germany’s inflation eased by less than expected, growing by 7.4% y/y due to the lower-than-anticipated impact of energy price reduction. Meanwhile, Spanish CPI print plummeted to 3.1%, down from 6.0% in February; core inflation, however, only dipped a touch to 7.5%. With overall and core CPI readings pulling in opposite directions, we expect inflation to remain sticky, supported by pricing strength in the shelter and service costs. The dollar dipped back below 102.50, and the 10yr US Treasury yield settled at 3.56%.
Base metals reattempted to gain momentum once again today but struggled to break above the previous day’s highs, settling mostly lower on the day. Copper rejected priced above $9,050/t again before coming back below $9,000/t to close at $9,001/t; the cash to 3-month spread has been trading in a moderate backwardation in recent days, going back to $6.25/t today. Aluminium struggled above $2,400/t to settle at $2,386/t. Lead and zinc closed at $2,138.50/t and $2,932/t, respectively.
Oil futures gained some footing by the end of the day, with WTI and Brent trading at $74/bl and $79/bl. Gold and silver saw another day of moderate gains to $1,974/oz and $23.70/oz, respectively.
All price data is from 30.03.2023 as of 17:30