Daily Economics Dashboard - 20 January 2021

Download an overview of key economic and financial metrics on 20 January 2021 2020.

Lockdown: The leaders of both Germany and Scotland have announced that their respective national lockdowns will be extended to mid-February. Meanwhile, in Slovakia the lockdown has been extended to February 7th and in the Netherlands it has been prolonged to at least 9th February.
Equities: Globally, stocks are mostly higher. In Europe, gains have been recorded by the FTSE 250 (+1.1%), DAX (+0.7%), STOXX 600 and CAC 40 (both +0.6%) this morning. In Asia, the Hang Seng (+1.1%), Kospi (+0.7%), CSI 300 (+0.7%) and S&P / ASX 200 (+0.4%) all closed higher. However, the Topix (-1.5%) was the only index to be down on close. In the US, futures for the S&P 500 is +0.4%.
VIX: Following a -6.2% decline over yesterday, the CBOE market volatility index has decreased a further -4.5% this morning to 22.2, above its long term average (LTA) of 19.9. The Euro Stoxx 50 vix is also lower this morning, down -6.6% to 20.3, remaining below its LTA of 23.9.
Bonds: The UK 10-year gilt yield and the US 10-year treasury yield have both softened +1bp to 0.30% and 1.10%, respectively, while the German 10-year bund yield has held steady at -0.53%.
Currency: Sterling has appreciated to $1.37, 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 increased +0.7% and +1.0% to $56.31 and $53.53 per barrel, respectively.
Gold: The price of gold increased for the second consecutive session yesterday, up +0.2% to $1,839.
Baltic Dry: The Baltic Dry increased for the first time in four sessions on Tuesday, up +1.5% to 1,766. Cumulative gains over the last 15 sessions are currently +33%, however, the index remains -16% below the $2,097 peak recorded on 6th October 2020.
UK Inflation: Inflation increased to +0.6% in December, higher than +0.3% recorded in November and just above market expectations of +0.5%. Increased prices were largely driven by transport costs and clothing prices.