Daily Economics Dashboard - 11 March 2021

Download an overview of key economic and financial metrics on 11 March 2021.

Equities: Globally, stocks are mostly higher. In Europe, the FTSE 250 (+0.6%), STOXX 600 (+0.2%) and CAC 40 (+0.1%) are all up over the morning, however the DAX (-0.1%) is slightly down. In Asia, the CSI 300 (+2.5%), KOSPI (+1.9%), Hang Seng (+1.7%) and TOPIX (+0.3%) all closed higher, while the S&P / ASX 200 was flat on close. In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed at a record high yesterday and surpassed 32,000 for the first time in its history. This morning, futures for the S&P 500 and the (DJIA) are up +0.7% and +0.3%.
VIX: After decreasing -6% over Wednesday, the CBOE market volatility index has declined further, down -1.5% this morning to 22.2, above its long term average (LTA) of 19.9. The Euro Stoxx 50 volatility index is also lower this morning, down -1.5% to 19.4, remaining below its LTA of 23.9.
Bonds: The US 10-year treasury yield has compressed -3bps to 1.49%, while the German 10-year bund yield is down -2bps to -0.33% and the UK 10-year gilt yield is +1bp lower at 0.71%.
Currency: The euro has appreciated to $1.20, while sterling is currently $1.39. Hedging benefits into the UK and the Eurozone are 0.55% and 1.60%, respectively, on a five-year basis, down from 0.57% and 1.63% yesterday.
Oil: Brent Crude and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) have increased +1.5% and +1.6% to $68.91 and $65.46.
Baltic Dry: The Baltic Dry increased for the seventh consecutive session on Wednesday, up +4.2% to 1980, its highest level since October 2020 and its largest daily increase in over three weeks. Prices have been pushed higher by the capsize index, which increased +10.6% yesterday to its highest level since 26th January.
US Government Debt: The federal government budget deficit totalled $311 billion in February, higher than expectations of $265 billion. This brings the deficit for the first five months of fiscal year 2021 to $1.05 trillion, which is $422 billion more than the same period in fiscal year 2020.
US Inflation: US CPI increased +0.4% over the month of February, in line with expectations and above January’s +0.3% increase. Annual inflation increased +1.7% in February, also in line with expectations and higher than +1.4% in January. This is the highest annual rate since February 2020, with prices pushed higher by energy costs.