The Day at a Glance | August 12 2021

The Top

*Central Bank of Mexico will make a monetary policy decision this afternoon (1:00 pm Mexico City time); the target rate is expected to increase in 25 bp (4.25% e.).

*The International Energy Agency cut its demand for oil estimates in 2021 due to the virus`s new wave (-550 thousand bpd).

*China partially closed off the Ningbo-Zhoushan port, the third most important in the world, after a COVID-19 outbreak.

*Mexico logs a new record daily number of COVID-19 cases (22,711).

*Economic indicators: Inflation for producers increased more than expected in the United States during July (7.8% annual; 1% monthly).

Economic environment

China partially closes off the Ningbo-Zhoushan port. Chinese authorities decided to close the Meishan terminal in the Ningbo Zhoushan port after a COVID-19 outbreak was reported. The port is the third most important at a global level in terms of container volume and the second largest in China – after Shanghai. The measure could further affect the most fragile supply chains as well as international trade. The Meishan terminal is estimated to process close to 25% of the shipments that go through the Ningbo port, which could increase delays in merchandise deliveries. This is the second time that China has decided to close off a port because of the coronavirus; and it’s feared that the measures will decrease storage capacity and increase international freight rates, which have already increased inflation for producers recently. The type of goods that go through the Ningbo port are electronics, textile goods, manufactured goods, oil and agricultural goods. China has maintained a strategy of shutting down activities in sites or regions of the country where outbreaks of the virus are reported in efforts to avoid a faster spread, which increases the risks of economic activities being affected by the new wave of infections.