PMIs show impressive manufacturing growth
It was an eventful week, to say the least. The U.S., for the first time, became directly involved militarily in Syria’s year-long civil war. Senate Republicans invoked the “nuclear option” to prevent a Democratic filibuster, allowing federal judge Neil Gorsuch to obtain Supreme Court confirmation. President Donald Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago, the so-called “Winter White House,” to discuss trade and North Korea, among other issues.

And on Friday we learned the U.S. added only 98,000 jobs in March, down spectacularly from the 235,000 that came online in February. In response to this and the Syrian air strike, gold jumped more than 1 %, touching $1,272 in intraday trading, its highest level in five months.

Fresh purchasing manager’s index (PMI) readings for the month of March were also released, showing continued manufacturing sector expansion in the world’s largest economies, including the U.S., China and the Eurozone. All of Zurich was under construction, it seemed, with cranes filling the skyline in every direction. And when I flew back into San Antonio, sections of the international airport were also under heavy construction. This all reflects strong local and national economic growth in Switzerland and the U.S.

I especially like the Zurich Airport. I travel a lot, and it’s the only airport I know where you can sit out on an open deck and watch and listen to the jets take off and land.

The official China PMI rose to 51.8, the fastest pace in nearly five years. Because the PMI is a forward-looking tool, this bodes well for industrial metals, as measured by the London Metal Exchange Index (LMEX). The Asian giant, as I’ve pointed out before, consistently ranks among the top importers of copper, aluminum, steel and more.

The U.S. Manufacturing ISM cooled slightly to 57.2, down from 57.7 in February. This still remains high on a historical basis. Because the U.S. is the number three producer of crude, following Russia and Saudi Arabia, oil prices have tended to track the country’s manufacturing index.