Daily Economics Dashboard - 18 January 2021

Download an overview of key economic and financial metrics on 18 January 2021 2020.

COVID-19: The total number of cases recorded globally has surpassed 95 million, with circa 2.0 million reported deaths according to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine.
Equities: In Europe, stocks are mixed this morning with the FTSE 250 +0.1% higher, the CAC 40 down -0.2%, while the STOXX 600 and DAX are both flat. In Asia, the CSI 300 (+1.1%) and Hang Seng (+1.0%) were both up on close, while the Kospi (-2.3%), S&P / ASX 200 (-0.8%) and Topix (-0.6%) all closed lower. In the US, futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are both -0.1%.
VIX: Following a +6.0% gain over Friday, the CBOE market volatility index increased a further +4.7% this morning to 24.3, above its long term average (LTA) of 19.9. The Euro Stoxx 50 volatility index is also higher this morning, up +0.9% to 22.7, albeit remaining below its LTA of 23.9.
Bonds: The UK 10-year gilt yield, US 10-year treasury yield and German 10-year bund yield have all held steady at 0.29%, 1.09% and -0.54%, respectively.
Currency: Sterling has depreciated to $1.35, while the euro is currently $1.21. Hedging benefits for US dollar denominated investors into the UK and the eurozone are 0.59% and 1.37% per annum on a five-year basis.
Oil: Brent Crude and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) have decreased -0.4% and -0.1% to $54.90 and $52.31 per barrel, respectively.
Baltic Dry: The Baltic Dry declined for the second time in 13 sessions on Friday, down -2.1% to 1,754. Cumulative gains over the last 13 sessions are currently +33%, however, the index remains -16% below the $2,097 peak recorded on 6th October 2020.
Gold: The price of gold decreased -1.0% to $1,827 on Friday, the lowest it has been since mid December.
China’s GDP: China’s economy grew +6.5% in Q4 2020, taking full year GDP growth to +2.3% for 2020. In Q4, year on year GDP growth was the highest of any quarter since 2018, outpacing pre-pandemic growth. However, this is the country’s weakest full year GDP growth in 40 years, owing to the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.