Headlines Mar 12

Metals

China’s top environmental official vowed to reinforce pollution curbs after inspections found some steel mills were violating output restrictions and faking documents

Aluminum inventories in London Metal Exchange warehouses extended a record-breaking jump with metal flooding into Asian depots, as a squeeze may have forced traders to deliver supplies on the bourse

Gold Slips as ‘Double Whammy’ of Yields and Dollar Curbs Demand

China Metal Inventories Expand With Copper Volume at Sept. High

China’s Carbon Curbs Threaten Metals Output More Than Coal

Demand for Lithium-Ion Batteries to Grow Tenfold by 2030

Base Metals Head for Weekly Gain Amid Global Recovery Optimism

Shanghai Weekly Lead Stockpiles Rise 30%

Iron Ore Stockpiles Hit 22-Month High in Chinese Ports

China Iron Ore Stockpiles Rise 0.9M Tons to 128.8M Tons: Mysteel

Steel Mills in China’s Tangshan Found Violating Output Cuts

 

Oil

India’s oil-product consumption sank almost 5% in February, posting the biggest annual drop since August as high prices bite

India’s Feb. Fuel Demand Posts Biggest (YoY) Drop in Six Months

U.S. oil giants are proving OPEC+ right for now, as shale producers are sticking to vows to cut costs and reduce debt

Oil Steady Near $70 With Dollar Rising and Demand Outlook Mixed

JPMorgan Lifts U.S. Oil Output View With Drillers Set to Ramp Up

Oil’s Dramatic Recovery Comes to Life in Caribbean Storage Tanks

Caribbean Oil Stockpiles at 17-Month Low on OPEC+ Supply Shock

Saudis Give Less to at Least Four in Asia

Oil Loading Remains Halted in Novorossiysk Amid Storm: Transneft

Delek Tyler FCCU Issue; Husky Lima Maintenance

Cenovus Hires Outsiders for Maintenance in Ohio, Angering Locals

Shandong Port Oil Stockpiles Highest Since Feb. 2020: SCI99

Suspected Iranian Oil Finishes Discharging into Houston

Two Murban Oil Cargoes for May Trade at +35C/B Over Grade’s OSP

Shell Reveals Oil-Trading Profit Doubled to $2.6 Billion in 2020

Aramco Cuts April Supplies to Some; Rongsheng Buys

Venezuelan Gas Stations, Oil Output at 9-Month High

U.S. Gets 1st North Sea Harding Oil in 3 Years

Glencore Sells Forties, Brent; Harding to U.S.

Socar Sells Azeri Light; CPC April Loadings to Rise

Ancap Buys From Trafigura; Nigeria Flow to Italy Dips

Lyondell Houston Works to Restore Operations

1 pm: Baker Hughes weekly rig count

1:30pm: ICE Brent weekly commitment of traders

3:30pm: CFTC weekly commitment of traders data

 

Events & Synopsis

U.S Futures indicates flat/negative opening for the markets; fresh bout of bond volatility spurred a risk-off mood

Biden Promises Virus ‘War Footing’ to Speed Shots for All Adults

President Biden meets virtually with leaders of Japan, Australia and India

House Judiciary Panel holds antitrust hearing

Two-Thirds of Italians Set to Face Lockdown as Pandemic Worsens

China Hits Out at New Huawei Curbs, Says U.S. Can’t Be Trusted

Tencent Is Said to Face Broad China Clampdown on Fintech, Deals

Treasury Dealers Offload Bonds as Regulatory Deadline Nears

Hong Kong Outbreak Ensnares Expats With Hundreds Quarantined

Chinese Debt Becomes Unlikely Safe Haven Amid Bond Turmoil

Credit Suisse Overruled Risk Managers on Greensill Loan

U.K. Trade With EU Plunges as Brexit Turns From Talk to Reality

U.K. Firms Decry Unfair Border as EU Goods Move Freely

Astra May Supply Less Than Half the Shots EU Expects by June

Russia Wants to Vaccinate Nearly 1 in 10 on the Planet This Year

ECB Doesn’t Intend Faster Bond-Buying to Mean More Stimulus

Microsoft Warns of New Threat Against Unpatched Networks

U.S. Imposes New 5G License Limits on Some Huawei Suppliers

Apple Car Could Help Stock Reach $3 Trillion Market Cap: Citi

Thailand Suspends Astra Shots; Biden Vaccine Order

Italy’s Asset Manager AMCO Set to Handle Soured Pandemic Debt

U.K. Economy Shrank Less Than Expected In January Lockdown

Homebuilder Berkeley Says Lockdown to Cut Sales Reservations

British Airways Mulls Biggest Jets for Summer Jaunts to Greece

Burberry’s Sales Rebound Signals Luxury Demand Is Buoyant

Deutsche Bank Expects Revenue Dip This Year as Trading Slows

Hammerson Slashes $2.8 Billion From Malls Hit by Lockdowns

Renault Sells $1.4 Billion Daimler Stake for Turnaround Funds

Axa Dumps German Power Giant RWE as Coal Support Proves Costly

Credit Suisse Falls as Goldman Sees ‘Less Attractive’ Valuation

Poland’s CCC to Sell E-Commerce Unit Stake at $1.3 Billion Value

Rakuten to Raise $2.2 Billion as Japan Post, Tencent Invest

Ant Group Pledges to Keep Lid on Lending to Young People

China Pollution Crackdown Exposes Rule Breakers in Top Steel Hub

India Wants to Undo Rule That Makes Capital Costlier for Banks

Grifols to Buy Back Own Shares for as Much as EU125 Million

China Tech Majors’ Bond Spreads Jump Amid Regulation Worries

 

 

8:30am: President Biden meets virtually with leaders of Japan, Australia and India in first ‘Quad’ meeting

10:00am: House Judiciary antitrust panel holds hearing with Microsoft President Brad Smith

10:30am: U.S. House meets

11:15am: White House Covid-19 response team gives press briefing

Noon: VP Harris swears in Cecilia Rouse as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers

Noon: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan gives press briefing

2:30pm: Biden will deliver remarks on the American Rescue Plan in the Rose Garden

3:40pm: Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, depart White House for Wilmington, Delaware

4:35pm: Bidens arrive in Wilmington

 

U.S. Senate next meets March 15

 

Annual General Meetings: DCT US

Other Events: ARGO US, BCEI US, T US

Other/M&A: BSY US

 

Forex

The dollar rallied and a decline in Treasuries that begun in Asian trading gained speed

European stocks fell along with U.S. futures, where the steepest drop was seen in the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index

The greenback extending its advance in European trading; it was higher against all of its Group-of-10 peers

U.S. 10-year yields climbed as much eight basis points to 1.61% following a block sale in futures and delta-hedging of put options in Asia; European bonds fell, yet outperformed Treasuries

The ECB’s promise to “significantly” boost the pace of its bond purchases is threatening to turbo-charge a yield divergence with the U.S. that could drive money out of Europe, unless the Federal Reserve ramps up its commitment to ease policy at its own meeting next week

Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau says there was no discussion of changing the size of the PEPP asset purchase program at the European Central Bank‘s meeting Thursday

Most ECB policy makers have no intention of expanding their 1.85 trillion-euro ($2.2 trillion) emergency stimulus program despite their pledge on Thursday to step up the pace of bond buying to keep yields in check, according to officials familiar with the matter

An upstart contender to U.S. Treasuries has emerged in the wake of last month’s vicious debt rout. Chinese government bonds have defied the turbulence rocking peers from Australia to Europe, offering a port in the global reflation storm

The Treasury market selloff last week came amid signs investors are deleveraging. In a curious twist though, instead of dealer inventories rising as a consequence, they unexpectedly collapsed. One explanation for the disconnect is that dealers are taking steps to trim holdings before the expiry of a key regulatory exemption on March 31

At next week’s policy review, the Bank of Japan is considering releasing an analysis of the potential impact of lowering its negative interest rate to show its determination to use this option if needed, according to people familiar with the matter

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson insists any friction suggested by more high-frequency data has been mere “teething problems,” but the evidence from the statistical agencies of Germany, France and Italy had suggested there was a hefty drop in shipments from the EU to Britain in the first month after the transition period ended

AstraZeneca Plc will supply less than half the planned number of Covid-19 vaccines to the European Union in the second quarter after the company’s efforts to remedy a slew of problems ran into further trouble

The government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi is weighing stringent new restrictions on as many as two-thirds of Italians, with the regions encompassing the country’s largest cities possibly heading into lockdown amid a resurgence in the pandemic